The Forgotten Hero
by ShadowXLink86
Summary: Link was sent back in time to prevent Hyrule from falling at the hands of the Demon King, and he had succeeded. But we all know how short lived victory can be. And in no time at all he is once again thrown into the heart of a power struggle that will decide more than just the fate of Hyrule, because it isn't such a small world anymore. And neither is his new foe...
1. ACT 1 - Back to the Past, Prologue 1

**The Forgotten Hero**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, this is a fanfic blah blah blah, do I have to explain this?**

 **Cover art was done by suzumiyamisa from devianart  
**

 _ **A/N: I've made the prologue in two parts so that I could give the story a little bit of context. I sort of took facts from the game and manga adaptation of Ocarina of Time and skewed them togerther, but that's fanfic for ya!**_

 _ **Also this story is one of those start off slow then picks up kind of story's, and that means that you'll have to wait until Chapter 9 excluding the prologues, sorry. But, It's all part of the plan, hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **And yes, this is a Hero's Shade fanfic.**_

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 **ACT 1 – Back to the Past**

 **Prologue Part 1  
**

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The two of them stood there for a while, staring at each other. They were merely children, Hylian children. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed and fair skinned, the boy was only ten. He wore a green tunic, and a slumped green hat that was pointed at the end. There was a small sword on his back and a shield that bore the insignia of Hyrule, a red bird with its wings spread out and three stacked golden triangles above its head.

Standing across from him was a girl of the same age and race. She had slightly paler skin than his, brilliant blue eyes, and a white head scarf covering her blonde hair. She was wearing a white and purple dress with all sorts of royal markings. After all, she was a princess. Her innocent expression of surprise quickly changed into that of joy.

"You're okay!" She exclaimed. Then she bowed her head in apology, "I'm sorry I left you in the market place…Impa got very worried about me, but I was even more worried about you."

The boy didn't know what to say. _What's going on?_ He thought. _She sent me_ – his train of thought was derailed by the realization – _to the past…_ "You know, I didn't even tell you my name?" _Oh, so this is where we were…are…_ "My name is Zelda, I am the princess of Hyrule, what is your name?"

"I'm Link." The boy replied.

"The boy from the forest." She added.

"Yes," he confirmed with a smile. "I am from the Kokiri Forest." _Was my voice always this high?_ He thought. Zelda gestured for him to come closer. He walked up the steps of the small stone patio that she was standing on, he could hear the gentle sound of the water flowing around the perimeter of the garden, just as he remembered it. This is where he learned about the fate that bound them together. _I can't believe that this is happening…again._ It was so strange to him, in his head he had the voice of a man, but whenever he would speak it was the voice of a child.

She looked at him in a very scrutinizing way, top to bottom, and then back to the top, but in the end her gaze fixed on his face. "What?" he asked. "No, seriously."

Without blinking, her gaze of blue fixed on his, she said. "There's something different about you."

"Like what?"

"You aren't the same as you were in the market place, you look more mature." She said, her eyes narrowing.

"Huh?" _Does she know?_ Impossible, he decided, she just learnt his name.

"Or maybe this is just your serious face, you must've been so worried about me that day, awww." She teased with her hands on her cheeks. He smiled, and also blushed."Wait, it just hit me." She said suddenly.

"What?" Link said with a hint of curiosity, which was surprising to him because he remembered exactly how things had gone the first time and how they should be going, and as of now things were not going according to how they should have been. The girl's eyes searched for something about his head before saying, "Where's your fairy?"

"Whaddya' mean 'where's my fairy?' She's right here!" He pointed to the area near his hat.

"You keep it in your hat? Can she breathe in their?" _This is new._ He thought.

"No, no," Link said shaking his head, he pointed again at his hat. "She's right here." He said with a confident smile.

"Where?" The girl said, she was quite clearly puzzled.

"Can't you see?" He was starting to get impatient. Every second that passed by seemed to turn him back into a ten year-old _._ Zelda stared at him blankly.

"This isn't funny." She said crossing her arms.

"I'm not joking." He said. "But you might need your eyes checked because she's right here!" He cried out before scolding himself, he didn't want any guards showing up. "Navi. Naviiii. Hey! Listen!" Usually that was enough to set her off, what's her deal this time. He searched the air above his head, where could she be? "Come on Navi. I need your help, your making me look like an idiot in front of the princess. Navi?" He called to the wind.

The princess cocked an eyebrow, "Who needed their eyes checked?" Link's face dropped, he had gotten so used to having a fairy that he didn't remember that she had just left him. How had he forgotten so quickly? And what will he do now?

"What's the matter?" Zelda asked. "You are the same boy from the market aren't you? You mind explaining what's going on?" She looked at him intently, her gaze piercing right through him.

"Umm…I don't think you'd believe me." He could feel a lump in his throat rise.

"Please, do tell me." She said. She was well composed, as if she were a young lady, already many years ahead of herself. Just like the Zelda he knew. Just like the Zelda he loved. It was so strange for him to stand there and tell her the whole story about how he had first met her, and how she was the one that had sent him on a treacherous journey to obtain the spiritual stones of fire and water, but when he had finally returned to town, Ganondorf had already layed siege upon it. And in the process of trying to protect the sacred realm by waking the blade of evil's bane, he had unknowingly thrown it wide open, thus allowing the Evil King to obtain the Triforce of Power. He told her about waking up in the Temple of Light, after a seven year slumber, about the Sage of Light known as Rauru. How he faced countless enemies one after the other, motivated by the one thought that he might get to see his precious Zelda again (he left this part out). And even when they at last met, they were interrupted when the Ganon kidnapped Zelda. That was when Link had gone practically knocking at the Evil King's front door, finally given the chance to confront him. He had won, twice. And with the help of Zelda and the Sages, Ganon was locked up in the Sealed Realm. He then explained the part about how Zelda had sent him back to the Temple of Time to place the Sacred Blade back into its pedestal, therefore regaining his lost seven years as well as enabling him to shut the Door of Time before Ganon would ever know it was opened.

"And that," Link said in the now late-afternoon sunshine. "Is how I ended up here. You see now? It's all so complicated that even I have trouble keeping the facts straight." There was a long silence, and a soft, warm summer breeze blew through the garden sending ripples through the grass and causing the flowers to gently dance in the wind.

"Wow…" What else could she say? They were both sitting on the steps now, staring out at the garden, a luscious green, with crystal clear water running like a sort of beautiful moat around the perimeter. "So, you know what I was doing, staring through that window?" She asked at last. He nodded. "And you also know of my dream?" Again, he nodded, then added,

"I had the same one." Zelda turned to face him, her soft, innocent face looked pitiful now.

"So that means, only a few hours ago you had defeated him."

"Uh-huh." He stared at his now small toes. Even now the deafening sound of thunder boomed in his head, as well as the wretched roaring of the beast that the evil king had become. For him it was quite astonishing, yet, here he stands, with Ganondorf speaking with the King of Hyrule through the window behind them.

"It must be very difficult to be you right now. For all that you've been through, all because of my mistake," She began.

"What? No! Please, don't say that!"

"But, t-to imagine." She shivered. Tears began to roll down her cheek. "I, I would have *hic* sent y-you to d-do the same t-thing all over ag-g-gain." She managed through sobs. Her crying made Link's eyes well up, but he fought the tears back. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small, half-dirty handkerchief, and handed it to the princess. She found the clean side, a mere quadrant of the square cloth, with which she wiped away her tears.

"Does that mean you believe what I say?" He asked. As if to answer his question she pointed an unsteady finger to his left hand. He lifted it up, and lo and behold there it was. On the back of his left hand two golden triangles could be seen supporting a lone triangle on top. The bottom left triangle was emitting a soft golden light that reflected off of Link's face, the gleam in his eyes visible to Zelda.

"For that individual who has stared at the very face of evil, who possesses unmatched bravery, for him alone is the Triforce of Courage." She said in a low voice, her tears had stopped, but a solemn expression still remained. "I couldn't deny it even if I wanted to; for you truly _are_ the Hero of Time." More silence followed. Link continued to stare at his hand.

He was the first to break the silence. "So," he started. "Now what?" This prompted Zelda to get up from where they were sitting and approach the glass from across the stone patio, she began peeking through the window just like before. The King was there sitting on his throne like usual but the Gerudo had left. She placed her head in her palms which rested on the window ledge, she closed her eyes and squeezed her temples furrowing her brows as if looking like she was thinking would help her come up with an answer. In the end came her reply, the garden now being a soft pink as the sun finally began to set and everything became still, "I don't know…"

 **Thanks for reading guys, Special thanks to K'ger who helped me out on this project. Be sure to read & Review!**


	2. Prologue 2 - Home Coming

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own The Legend of Zelda, I'm only saying this so that I don't get sued.**

 **Cover art was done by suzumiyamisa from devianart**

 **ShadowXLink86: All right then! Here's the second part to the prologue and it probably isn't that good, like I said it's all for context.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

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 **Prologue 2 – Home Coming**

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It had taken several days for them to figure out what to do from that point on. Zelda managed to convince her father of what had taken place in the future with the help of the Triforce on Link's hand. The King began sending scouts to the desert valley where the Gerudo Tribe resided and while they were carrying out their reconnaissance the King secretly began raising an army. In the meantime while all of that was going on, Link had decided to go looking for his fairy companion. He made his mind up to go see Zelda one last time, and as they stood there in the garden, she gifted him the Ocarina of Time.

"I think it would be safer with you," she told him. "This way even if things do go wrong, the Evil King will be unable to reach the Sacred Realm." she then put the Ocarina to her mouth. "This song reminds me of us." she then played the solemn melody that he knew all so well. And as the notes rang out, it seemed that time itself had frozen. It was a moment that Link had wished never ended, but it did, and the small blue instrument was placed in his hand. He then mounted his horse, and set off.

That was two years ago. And since then he had somehow stumbled into an alternate dimension, he had left Hyrule and entered the world known as Termina. This land became the setting for not merely an adventure, but an imminent calamity that would have destroyed the land if it weren't for Link. He had only three days to save the world, but he would always run out of time, luckily he had the ocarina, and by playing the Song of Time he would be able to go back to the first day. Though, every time he did that, all the people that he had helped would no longer remember the things that he had done for them, although that wasn't exactly new to him. And when the whole thing was over, when the evil was banished from the world, he had set off once again, looking for his friend.

He never did find her.

But as his search continued he somehow stumbled back into his home dimension after his seemingly endless wandering. But, the state of Hyrule had not been so well, for in just two short years the Gerudos and the Hylians had waged war on each other. Ganondorf, in his search for the Sacred Realm had launched an assault on the castle just like before and the peace that had taken years to establish in the kingdom was shattered in seconds. Although it was all in the absence of the hero, the kingdom was able to rely on the army that had been secretly raised under the King's very own eyes. It had been sufficient enough to counter the attack and in the end they managed to apprehend Ganon.

For breaking the treaty that he had forged with the kingdom he had been sentenced to imprisonment in Arbiter's Grounds, a place so far away from the already vast Gerudo Desert that Link himself hadn't even heard the name until Zelda had told him of the events. Escape from there was impossible, there were several deities guarding the prison, and dozens upon dozens of ghastly monsters all roaming within its walls. An attempt at breaking out would be suicide.

This all meant that the Gerudos were without a king, and so a new pact was made with the Hylians to ensure that they would uphold peace in the land. But that only made Link question Hyrule's need for the Hero of Time even more than what he had already begin to do. Now that there was no need for the legendary hero what would he do? When he brought this to the princess she had kindly enlisted him into the Hylian army. "This land will always require your service," she told him. "Whether they know it or not, it is the legendary hero that will always save Hyrule when calamity grips the land. We will always need you." She smiled, her words dripping with affection, her eyes brilliantly shining.

And as he approached the doors of the Knight Academy, he turned back to see the sun as it set, the walls were a soft pink, the sky was ablaze in a deep red, and again everything was still as if time had come to a stop. "You were always good at this kind of thing, and your loyalty to the kingdom is unfaltering, I needn't tell you this for it has already come to pass…" The words rang out through his mind as if they had just been spoken, he stared intently at the crimson sky one last time taking it all in. "Go on, become a hero, again," she grinned at him, from ear to ear, and laughed. "Think about it as a quest, a whole new adventure! You'll have fun!" she shoved him playfully out of the gates and waved. "My hero!" She called out as he walked down the path that would lead him into town, he saluted with his back to the castle. And now facing the sunset, with a gust of wind blowing, a torrent of emotion swept over him. He raised his hand in the air, all the while he was sobbing. His tears were carried away by the wind, glimmering in the brilliant light that spilt over the landscape, "I will," he said between sobs. He saluted at the sun, and cried out, "I will become your Hero!" He wiped his tears and turned to face the large wooden doors.

"I'll do it," he said, eyes ablaze. "I'll do it as many times as I have to."

 **ShadowXLink86: Alright, there you have it guys! I will do my best to update every Friday from now on, but no promises. I have been working on my profile page if you're interested but I have to say it's pretty meh right now.**

 **Just remember to Read & Review! I'm looking forward to your feedback!**


	3. Chapter 1 - A Soldier's Life

**Disclaimer: I Do Not own The Legend of Zelda, if I did I wouldn't be writing this as a fanfic, rather I would be making this into a game or some other cool product.**

 **Cover art was done by suzumiyamisa from devianart**

 **ShadowXLink86: I made this chapter a while ago and to be honest a part of me questions its existence, then again it gives me another week to look over the rest of my work and get newer chapters ready. I'm really sorry if this chapter sucks, but please bear with me, I promise that it will get way, way better later on. I have some crazy plans that I just have to put in word document form. Thank you for your support!**

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 **Chapter 1 – A Soldier's Life**

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"Look son, even if the King recommended you we couldn't allow you to join us – at least not yet anyway," the trainer had said. "You're too young." He was a burley man with standing brown hair and a neat, thin beard that stuck his chin tightly and framed his face. He had soldier-like features, wide eyes, a rugged nose and very broad shoulders. The palm of his hand could easily be wrapped around Link's twelve year old head. They all stood there in the dojo, a bunch of trainees just staring at him like he was just another hot-headed, snot-nosed brat.

"Seriously, I don't even know how you got a recommendation from the princess herself. You're lucky to have her as a friend but you shouldn't ask such favors from her. You should know better." Link couldn't believe it was happening. It was a crushing experience. He tried to hide his disappointment by looking away from the man.

"Look son," that was Captain Orville's thing, he called people 'son'; it was his way of sympathizing with the unfortunate ones. He placed a big hand on Link's shoulder. "The minimum age is fifteen, I can't do anything about it." The man crouched down and came face to face with him. It was visible, all of the little scars on his cheeks and forehead, the crooked nose, and the wrinkles that surrounded his hazy brown eyes.

"Son, I know you're disappointed, but if you're looking for training I can make you an offer." Link's face lit up. "I have a friend around here who runs a small business, he could use a hand from a young boy like you," again, his face began to sulk. "Look, I'll even pay you to do this work, all I need is someone to look after our horses and retrieve our milk from the ranch." He held out a grisly hand to shake. Link took it reluctantly.

 _That went well._ Link thought sarcastically as he cleaned the stable out with a scoop. Grass and animal droppings filled the hot, damp air that clung to the walls of the simple wooden stable, not to mention Link's nostrils. He heaved another shovel full of the waste and tossed it out. _I have four years till then._ He dropped the pitchfork, and with his arms behind his head he plopped onto a pile of straw. "May as well do something with all the spare time that I have." He said to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

"Spare time?" came a voice just beyond the stable, "That's quite unusual for people around here, isn't it?" she poked her head inside the door, flowing red hair, fair skin, and a simple tan-white dress with small blocky blue patterns lining the sleeves and bottom. "But if you have spare time I could have you work in the cucco house." She grinned.

"I thought your dad's keeping an eye on 'em." He replied jokingly.

"Keeping an _eye_ on _them_?" she chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "More like they're keeping an eye on him." This sounded familiar. The first time he met Malon, was when he was on his way to the castle. She had been singing in the dark, passing the time waiting for her father, Talon. The owner of Lon Lon Ranch had a habit of napping at the most inconvenient hours, for others though, not himself. He remembered visiting the ranch one time he had found the man sleeping in a house full of cuccos, but when Link entered the man had woken up and decided to play a game with him.

"I'm holding a very special cucco right here in my hand." The fat man said with a smile. He had large teeth and a brown beard.

"It looks like all the rest," Link replied.

"Trust me, it's very special." The man said. "Plus you'll get a prize if you win." Link didn't even bother to think over the matter.

"Prize?" He said, starry eyed. Talon laughed.

LET'S PLAY!" He shouted as he tossed the bird amongst the rest. With difficulty Link jumped into the pile and retrieved the 'special' cucco. "Nice job kid!" The overly enthusiastic man said. He obviously was enjoying himself. "Now, what should your reward be?" He said scratching his chin. "Would you like a job here at the ranch?"

"Aren't I a bit too young to be working here?" This took the man back.

"Wow…I know of a hundred kids who would kill for a job at this place, but fine, let me think of something else." A few moments passed by and then, "How would you like to marry my little girl?" He asked with a smile. This startled Link, it actually made his face turn red.

"W-what?" He stammered. "Would that r-really be okay?" The nervous youth asked.

"Well, of course it would!" The man grinned, once again exposing his teeth.

"I-I don't think I could."

"Come on, boy! Ya' know how hard it is to find a decent, hard working young man like yourself? All I want is my sweet little melon - "

"Malon!" Link cut in.

"Yeah, Malon, to be married happily to a man who will treat her right!" He looked intently at the boy, almost begging, "Is that so much to ask for?" Link mulled over it, the man had him in a tough spot. It almost seemed like not marrying the girl would be doing her a great injustice.

"I guess not," Link said.

"So, whadd'ya say?" The man asked, enthusiasm returning.

"I'd like to marry your daughter." A long silence followed. Link had been staring at the floor when he had said that, but when he looked up he saw the man's cheeks completely inflated, as if he was holding in gas. The man began to crack up, quivering uncontrollably. He dropped to the floor howling in laughter. His eyes filled with tears as he banged his fist against the floor. Gasping for air, between fits of laugher, all that Talon could manage was, "Aren't….you…. too young…. to get married!" He continued this for a few more minutes. Link couldn't help smiling, Talon slowly picked himself up while clutching his sides. "Thanks for being a good sport kid," He finally told him as he wiped his tears, "Come by anytime you like, we'll have some more fun." And that was the owner of the famous ranch.

"What are you thinking about?" This waked Link from his thoughts. Malon was standing right over him, her sapphire eyes peeking into his.

"It's nothing," He said, he was actually glad that her dad didn't remember this one.

"Really?" She straightened up, the petite girl had grown a little taller than him during his time in Termina. She had always seemed the same age as him, but she was actually three years his senior. None of this bothered him though; he already knew that he would be much taller than her in a few years.

"So," She said as she plopped down on the pile directly behind him. "How are things in the forest? Did they find out?"

"Yeah, they actually knew quite a while ago."

"So, it doesn't bother them?"

"They were a little uneasy at first, but they sort of got used to it. They're all so fascinated by the land outside of the forest, so I always try to bring something neat back for them to see." He said smiling. The Kokiri lived their lives as children, never ageing. They had always been under the protection of the Great Deku Tree, but he was dead now. And they couldn't step outside of the forest lest they had a death wish, though on the other hand it was possible for outsiders to get in.

In recent days this had become quite a concern for him. Everyday he would leave the forest and ride to the ranch carry out the deliveries, do the chores and then head back. He worried that at some point a bold, adventurous soul would spot him as he made his way through the entrance. What would happen then?

The two of them lie on the pile of straw in silence. "Link?" Malon asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you want to be a soldier?"

"I'm not really sure." He didn't actually have the slightest clue. He was thrust into a world where he had to be the hero; nobody ever asked him if he wanted to. It was simply his duty, his destiny, as he had heard so many times before. He had never actually wanted to be the hero, so what made him want to do this?

"Do you know what happens to soldiers? Do you know what their life is like?" Her tone was always the same, gentle and soft, but even then it could get the point across.

"Not really, I'm not a soldier yet."

"It's kill or be killed," she said in a low voice. "And either way someone has to die. All of those people have families. Imagine how they would feel knowing that someone that they love is dead." Link understood her point on kill, it didn't make him feel good imagining that he would be taking someone's life, but then again who would miss him if he had been killed?

He had no family. His father was completely unknown to him, though it was likely that he was dead, and his mother had barely made it to Kokiri with him before she too expired. He would have died even then if it weren't for the fact that the Great Deku Tree had known that Hyrule's fate depended on his survival. _Life is cruel_ , Link thought.

Malon got up from the pile and dusted herself off, she walked in front of Link and removed the orange scarf that she had tied around her neck. She already resembled the young lady he remembered her being. "I only say this because I worry about you two," She was speaking about her younger brother Alon, he was Link's age and also aspired to be a soldier, "I want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. " Link shuddered, he knew all too well the King of Theives she spoke of.

She dusted the scarf off and sighed, "My little brother's plenty of trouble as he is," She smiled weakly as she retied the scarf, the knot in front of her neck, "But this makes me worry the same, if not more." She paused and looked at Link, straw scattered across his green tunic. She turned around and began to walk out. "I'll be making supper in a bit, just finish off your work here and come inside, okay?"

He nodded. She made her way back to her house humming her favorite song, and whilst he savored the melody he thought things over. _Kill or be killed._ He stared at his toes then looked at the ceiling, where the sun penetrated through the slightest of cracks. He knew what it meant to kill; fate had made sure of it. Though it's not like he enjoyed it, so then why? The cool barn air grew even colder now. Maybe he had finally come to terms with that reality, that as a soldier he could regain what he had lost when he traveled back in time. Maybe that was it. His stomach growled. _Meh,_ he thought, _I can deal with this later._ With that he headed for the cucco house. _I have to finish my chores first before I can eat._

 **ShadowXLink86: A few terrible attempts at humor there, I apologize. Please Read &Review! Thanks, and see you next Friday!  
**

 **P.S. If you can think of a better name for any of my chapters feel free to PM me! If I like it I will put it down and credit the change to your name.**


	4. Chapter 2 - Playing with Fire

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Legend of Zelda, ugh...you know what screw this...ZZZZZ

 **Cover art was done by suzumiyamisa from devianart**

 **ShadowXLink86: Alrighty! I was looking at the chapters that I had already written so far and realized that I would have killed all my loyal fans if I had updated as is, and so since I really do care about you guys I decided to combine chapters 2 & 3 so that you would not only get a longer, but also a more exciting update, too! Yeah, I know I'm awesome...I know I suck... ;(**

 **Here it is people! ENJOY!**

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 **Chapter 2 –** **Playing with Fire**

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"Last one." Alon heaved a sack of Cucco fodder and tossed it on top of the incomplete stack. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and pushed away a few locks of his blazing red hair. The boy looked around with watchful sapphire eyes, the same as his older sister's, but his were alight with youthful energy. Link followed his gaze back to the wooden delivery wagon. It was still half-full. _Man, those birds are machines_ , he thought.

"Now, for the rest of the animals." Link said aloud. He couldn't believe that half of the cargo alone was just for the cuccos. _Where did it all go?_ He looked at one of the creatures. Covered in white feathers, it looked just like an ordinary chicken, just without legs, yet somehow they managed to hop about. There was something that was special about these that made the ranch owner invest heavily in them. _Omelettes?_ Link wondered while he observed it pecking at the cloth of one of the sacks. As if it could here his thoughts the bird turned its head and glared at him. He never imagined that a bird could give him such a dirty look, but that was before he knew their dirty little secret. Cuccos are like pitbulls he learned, their bawk is as bad as their peck, and that wasn't a laughing matter. They could kill you if they wanted to, but then who would feed them?

"Come on, let's finish this up, we've got more training to do!" Alon began to sprint all out in the direction of the partially unloaded cart with Link hot on his heels. He was glad to break the death glare that the cucco had shared with him. They raced to the cart and each grabbed a sack, and as fast as they could, they carried the twenty kilos back to the pile and stacked them. It was one of the latest innovations that they made to their daily chores, which they now labeled as 'training'.

Alon Rancher was both taller and stronger than Link, mostly due to him having done chores around the ranch for his whole life. Although he looked similar to Malon in the sense of his facial features, he took after his dad in every other way imaginable. But even his dad had limits as to how crazy he would allow things to get. His dad drew the line when it came to the cuccos, for obvious reasons.

The boys picked up two more sacks from the cart and were making their way back to the pile when the door to the farmhouse opened up and Malon stepped outside. "Come on in everyone! Lunch time!" She called out. Hearing this, the boys got excited, they heaved the bags over their heads and put in their all. Malon's cooking was the best around, they would never forgive themselves if they ate it cold.

"FOOOOOD!" Cried out a small feminine voice. It was followed by a little girl jumping off of the sacks that Link and Alon were carrying. The excited little girl was Katelon, the third born of Talon and the twin sister of Alon. She was the spitting image of her older sister, she had the personality of her father, and an appetite that could only be matched by their late mother. There was nothing that she loved more than food, everyone would say, even not even papa she would joke. Katelon dashed through the door, almost running over her older sister in the process. "Wait for me Kate-Lon!" Talon cried out as he too dashed into the house.

"Are you boys alright?" Malon called out to the abnormal limbs that seemed to belong to the sacks. One of them raised a shaky hand and gave her a 'thumbs up'. Malon walked over to the fodder and lifted the sacks to allow the boys to roll out from underneath. "I see that you've been training hard," She remarked while dusting off Link's tunic, she then turned to her brother to do the same, "You've still got chores ahead of you, and you'll need your strength to finish them."

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Everyone was gathered around the dining table, cutlery in hand. Katelon was practically sharpening her knife with her fork. "Relax, Kate-Lon, the food isn't running away." Her father told her. Talon had a habit of emphasizing the 'Lon' in both her and Alon's names; it was something that they hated with a passion.

"Again with the Kate-Lon! It's pronounced Kate-Lin! Not LON! LIN! Just like Alon is pronounced A-lin!" She began to sharpen her cutlery even more vigorously.

"Look, I do recall the fact that I named all of you, correct?" Talon rebuted, "So that means that I know how to say your names right. Right?"

"Actually, mom said that you could spell their names that way if you liked, but to pronounce the 'Lon's' in them would sound strange." Alon cut in.

"You're not helping. Besides, who told you that?"

"Malon did."

"How could she?" Talon cried out. Malon could here it all from the kitchen. _How could he?_ She thought. _Why did he have to drag me into this?_ She picked up the silver pot and brought it to the table. _This should do the trick._ Katelon's mouth was watering, she wasn't going to wait any longer and she reached for the lid of the steaming pot. Beef stew. "Yesss!" She exclaimed. Malon came back with the mashed potatoes and a bowl of salad. Lunch was usually a small meal because everyone had to resume their duties, it was dinner when they really got to indulge, Malon would make some awesome desserts with the help of the ranch's famous dairy products. The boys finished their meal and ran back outside to resume their training; Katelon and Malon set off to groom the horses. And Talon, well, eating always made him sleepy. And sleep was something that he was very skilled at.

The boys finished unloading the cart to the point where they were dragging the sacks. They both flopped against the pile, trying to relax their sole muscles. They would do this about twice a week, the rest of the time Link would be feeding the animals and cleaning the stables. Link lay there and closed his eyes for a bit. When he opened them the sky was crimson. How long had he been out for? He looked over at the wooden delivery cart, it was already loaded with bottles of milk. He sprang up. _The delivery! I was supposed to fill the cart!_ He opened his mouth, "Who-,"

"Take it easy," He spun around, it was Malon. "You looked so tired, so we loaded the cart for you." If there was such a thing as an angel, she would definitely have been one.

"We?" Link inquired. Malon gestured towards Talon.

"He was actually awake for once," she laughed. "Anyway, I'm going to be joining you and Alon for this delivery if you don't mind." He didn't, and within a few minutes they were all sitting on the wooden bench seat with Malon at the reigns, she called out to the horses, two black stallions, and they were off. They gently rode through the fields that blanketed the land on a narrow dusty road. They were headed north for the market place.

Link always enjoyed making this trip, he would always get to see the sunset dye the land in a soft pink, the small stream that ran past Kakariko would look like it was set on fire, the cliffs surrounding the mountain village glowing like ember and Death Mountain's Volcano in the distance. That was the one thing that he couldn't see. The volcano was nowhere in sight, rather it seemed to have been swallowed up by rather dark clouds. Smoke? Malon had noticed it as well and steered towards it. They stopped beside the narrow bridge that led across the stream to the village entrance, the cart was too wide to cross it. From this distance they could tell it was definitely smoke.

Malon gasped, "Oh, my."

"Looks like a fire." Alon said.

"A big fire," Link added.

"We should go get he-" Before Malon could even finish her sentence the boys had already leapt off the cart, bolting towards the village. "What's with you two!? Get back here NOW!" She cried after them. It was no use. They were no longer within earshot. _Curse that training of theirs._

She mulled over her options, then snapped at the reigns; something that she rarely did. The cart surged forward littering the ground with shattered glass and spilt milk. The Academy wouldn't mind the damaged goods; they would have something else to worry about.

* * *

The two of them made their way up the stairs as fast as they could. The entrance of the village wasn't far now. Link could smell it now, that burnt charcoal smell, there was no mistaking it, even from this far away. They rounded the next corner, and came to a halt. The entire village was lit brightly in orange, glowing hot embers danced through the wind on to the next profitable surface they could find. Flames crackled and leapt through the roofs and windows of dwellings, with thick black smoke billowing out. The flames greedily licked at everything they could, waltzing sinisterly about. Even the cliff edges that surrounded the village looked like giant glowing embers. He didn't dare touch them.

Link could feel the intense heat scorching his skin, a sweat already broke out on his forehead. He looked about; nothing was safe from the flames. Every shop, every house; even the windmill was caught in the fire's deadly grip. He searched harder, straining his eyes to see through the smoke.

"Where are the villagers?" Alon asked as if reading Link's mind, "They couldn't have all been indoors could they?"

"This doesn't make sense, somebody must've escaped." The thought alone had Link frantically sprint into the fray. Alon chased. The hot air was hard to breathe, and they tried to shield themselves from the flames of the nearby buildings.

"Hey!" Link shouted, "Everybody! We're here to help!" The boys listened for something above the sound of the crackling flames. Nothing. They ran from house to house, trying to look for any sign of life, but it was useless. _We're too late._ The thought made his stomach lurch.

Then they heard it. The clang of dull metal against wood. It was followed by a slight snapping sound, and cursing. It seemed to be coming from the north side of the village, near one of the cliff walls. They chased after it.

They passed by another blazing wreckage before they spotted the one house that wasn't completely engulfed by the flames. They heard the sound again, it came from the rear. An elderly man was leaning against the cliff edge beside a shovel that had its head broken off. Covered in soot and clutching his arm, he got up and gave the door a hard kick, only to be rewarded with a sharp cracking sound. "ARRGHHH!" The man dropped to the ground, the only difference this time being that he was clutching his leg.

"Dampe!" Alon cried out. The man looked up to see the caller.

"Boys!" He cried out. His wrinkled face was streaked with tears and sweat. The old man was head to toe in soot. The two tried to help him to his feet but the old man resisted. "LET GO! There's a lil' boy in there," He gestured to the house, "I can't break through, me spade broke before I could make a big enough hole in th' door." He blubbered desperately.

The hole was at the bottom right corner, near the hinge, with the surrounding wood completely scored. Link wasn't even sure he could fit through, he looked up, the fire was spreading to this side of the house.

He took a few steps back, one foot flat against the rock wall. He took a deep breath and pushed off, sprinting towards the door. He put his arms out in front as he closed the gap, and then dived. "Hey!" the gravekeeper shouted after him, "What're you doin'?! You'll get yer'self killed!"

Link cleared the jagged hole with only a few minor scrapes. Link could feel the splinters in his hands but ignored them. They could wait. He turned around and noticed that the door was bolted shut, three times over. He reached to undo them but they wouldn't budge no matter how hard he yanked at the slides. He'd have to worry about it later, he decided.

He searched the interior of the house, white walls holding paintings of ancient artifacts. There was a door ahead of him and another to the left. He approached the one in front, grasping the knob he reeled back instantly. The metal was sizzling hot.

He bit his lip, trying to ignore the pain his almost grilled hand brought him. Smoke began to pour out from the gaps of the door. "Anybody in here!" He called out. He thought he heard a faint cry.

"OOAAHH!" Alon slid right through the hole in the door. "Ouch!" he cried, "Splinters."

 _If only to make matters worse,_ Link thought. "Did you find him?" Alon asked as he dusted himself off.

"Uh-uh," He shook his head. "I don't think he's in that room," he said pointing to the smoking door.

"Kid!" Link shouted. There was a stumbling followed by the sound of something shattering. They turned their attention to the door on the left. More furniture was being knocked over.

They rushed through the door, facing a simple family room covered with familiar tribal decorations. A single red eye was painted on the wall, three small triangles along the top and a single large tear that drooped from the bottom. There were no windows, just a single lantern hanging from the ceiling provided lighting. The floor was littered with shattered pottery and flattened plants. Stools and tables had been knocked over, and in the middle of it all was a small boy.

The two rushed to his aid. Battered and bruised, the boy could barely lift an arm. "Mama…" He said weakly.

"You alright? What happened to you?" Alon asked. The boy lifted his gaze up from the ground, his black hair a curtain over his face, but Link could see past it, two dull emeralds. He felt miserable just looking at him.

"Mama…" The boy repeated.

"There's someone else here?" Alon asked the boy. He got the same response, only quieter this time. Alon and Link exchanged looks. Dampe only mentioned the boy. Link searched the room. There was a ladder beside the door they had entered that led to an opening in the ceiling.

His eyes darted back to the door. It was locked shut. "How the-" he ran to it, trying to force it open. It refused. "It doesn't even have a lock!" Link cried out, "What's going on!?" He looked back at the boy. _How did you get those wounds?_ He wondered if there actually _was_ someone else in the house.

He smelled more smoke. The wall that the other door had shared was beginning to discolor, from white to a tan, to a brown. It would all be charred black soon. Link face Alon, they only had one choice.

"Think you can carry him?" he asked the red head.

"Hope so," He needed Link's help to get the boy positioned across his shoulder. Neither of them had recovered from the afternoon's training they had done.

"Quickly!" Link urged. Alon clambered up the ladder as fast as he could with Link's head inches away from his rear. The walls turned black. Orange flames now visible, taunting them.

They reached the second floor, they were in the middle of an open space. Alon put the boy down in order to catch his breath.

"Where's your mom?" Link coughed. The smoke was much thicker here and there was no lighting except for what the flames illuminated from a few meters away. He looked down at the boy who was satisfactorily snoring.

Alon was still hunched over catching his breath. Link grabbed the boy, looking for any sign of an opening. The closest side was the one the faced the cliff wall, but it was no good. He spied an open window that showed the scene of the village straight ahead, though further, it was the best option.

He had to drag the small boy, his sore muscles struggling meet the task. The room grew brighter, he picked up his pace. His heart was racing, his arms were screaming. He finally reached the window and threw it open. He peeked outside, where would they go now? The whole village was toast. He spotted something below, a cart loaded with hay. How it wasn't on fire he didn't know, but it would do the trick.

He looked back to see Alon on the ground practically choking, unable to pick himself up. The room became even brighter, flames licking through near the ladder. Half of the ceiling was consumed and the fire was only gaining momentum.

Link hoisted the boy up and dropped him from the window, rushing back to Alon's aid. The heat was unbearable now, and the smoke was making his eyes water. He tried to blink away the tears only encouraging more to flow. He scraped Alon off the ground, making his way back. He was much slower due to his heavier friend also being unconscious.

They had only made it half way to the window when the flames to his left exploded, knocking Link off his feet. He was slow to get up. _MOVE IT!_ He screamed at his muscles. Gasping for air, he slowly lifted his friend off the ground, dragging him as fast as he could, closing the gap between them and the window, flames closing in.

 _Made it!_ Panting uncontrollably, he heaved Alon up and out the window. He barely had enough strength to follow, leaning over the window sill to face the sleeping boys in the hay below. The flames nipped at his boots. He pushed off.

As he exited the second floor window there was another explosion. Flames shot out several meters horizontally through the window frame. They narrowly missed Link as his flight path arced completely downward towards the hay pile. The wind rushed against his face, screaming in his ears, as the straw below came closer. He smiled.

The dry vegetation gently caught him, and brought him to rest at the bottom of the pile. He could hear small objects raining down on the pile, probably the glass. He lay there, contented with the outcome. There was a loud cracking sound. Link realized that it came from inside the house. _Uh-oh._

He was suddenly seized by strong hands and pulled free of the pile. He looked around; there were lots of people now, running between the wreckages with buckets of water, trying to subdue the flames. All of them were dressed in shining silver chain mail. _The army?_ Link mused.

The sound came again, even louder. Everyone watched the building that Link had just jumped out of. The roof caved in and the wall he faced collapsed, completely crushing the cart he was just in. _That was close._ He thought before panic swept over him. He frantically looked around, his savior noticed, and faced him towards two other young men each carrying one of the boys. He let out a sigh in relief.

The soldiers put them down, "You kids alright?" one of them asked. Link nodded.

"That was some crazy little stunt you pulled there, kid." The other asked. Alon coughed a little, and then opened his eyes. He was confused at first, but his attention soon shifted to the scene that was unfolding around him.

The fire continued to ravage the village fiercer than ever before. Soldiers were running around with buckets of water trying to quench the blaze, others trying to fill them as fast as possible from the well in the centre of the village. A soldier came running to the group that stood by Link and his friends, breathless.

"Captain!" He said when he reached them, hunching over to catch his breath.

"What is it?" said the man behind Link. This made Link turn around, and surely it was him. The burly man with the chin strap beard looked straight ahead at the addressing officer.

"The entrance…" The man said, still wheezing.

"What about the entrance?" He asked, though with his voice it sounded like a command.

"The fire…it has blocked it off." Finally straightening up to face his in-charge, he asked, "What do we do?"

"We don't have any choice now do we?" The man snarled, "Grab a bucket and make yourself useful!" He pointed his finger in the direction of the well. Just then there was another very loud crackling sound. "What was that?" The captain asked.

Every one rushed towards it. It was coming from the windmill, there were more sounds, booming from inside the stone tower, followed by silence. The windmill as it was, surrounded by flames on its risen plateau exploded in a ball of flame. Chunks of stone the size of a goron's bicep were sent flying through the air, crashing through rooftops and causing several houses to collapse.

The captain shouted, and the soldiers frantically tried to put distance between themselves and the deadly hail of debris. The massive fan blades of the windmill twirled through the air, heading straight for the well. A soldier standing nearby, paralyzed with fear turned to run, but tripped on the buckets that littered his path.

The captain made a beeline, ducking and dodging the deadly hailstorm. He was moments away from the young officer when the fan blades struck the well. Water mixed with dirt and debris flew through the air as one of the burning wooden blades wedged itself in the shaft with a hiss of steam.

The well was now blocked, with most of the water evaporated. And without the windmill they would see no more. There was nothing left to burn in the village, Link was sure of it, yet the fire seemed to grow stronger with every passing moment. He didn't know why, but Link had a feeling that this unnatural fire wouldn't stop until they were reduced to nothing but ashes.

 _But until then,_ he thought, _we still have time._

 ** _ShadowXLink86: Yep, I gave Malon a last name. And just who is that little boy? Find out in the next chapter!_**

 ** _REMEMBER FOLKS SINCE YOU SEEM TO HAVE BEEN FORGETTING! READ & REVIEW!_**


	5. Chapter 3 - Down Came the Rain

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, and to whomever started this annoying tradition/formality, you can go fly a kite! :P**

 **Cover art was done by suzumiyamisa from devianart**

 **ShadowXLink86: Alright, so my tiny little dinky laptop which I use for typing up this nonsense caught some sort of virus or something like that...don't worry though, I can fix it!...so...yeah...just thought that you guys might want to know...**

 **Oh! Oh! I almost forgot! Last week a kind reader had left the following comment:** _This is great! So does link still have all of the skills from the kid and majoras timeline?_ **1) Yes, he has all of the skills with the exception of magic...I think... 2) Next time you leave a review please create an account so that I may be able to reply sooner, plus you can get notifications for all of your favorite stories, Thank You!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Down Came the Rain**

* * *

It continued to burn brighter, occupying even the area where there was no sustenance for it. There was no stopping the fire that completely consumed Kakariko. Or so they thought. The soldiers regrouped near the remains of the well. Amongst the tilled earth and debris there was a limp hand poking out.

A frantic soldier rushed to the trapped soul's aid. "Don't worry pal, I'm here. You'll be just fine." the soldier, who couldn't have been older than eighteen, said as he tugged it free. The man let out a hysterical scream, making everybody around him jump as he dropped his comrade's bloody arm to the ground.

Orville cursed where he sat near the well. He leaned back on one of his arms, one of the fan blades had caved one side of his breast plate when he had come too close. He wasn't bleeding but he was sure that he had broken at least a few ribs. On impulse he attempted to clutch his side only to be rewarded with a satisfying sizzle from contacting the hot metal. He lost his balance, shoulders dropping to the ground he cried out in pain.

The fire was only getting hotter; Orville took notice of this when he saw an eerie orange glow that started off as a mere dot on his undamaged breast plate. It was more than a mere reflection he soon realized as the glow began to get brighter and spread further along his battered armor. He was sweating profusely as the metal conducted heat from the fire. _It won't take long for it to start melting,_ he reasoned.

He cursed again, knowing that he and his troops were all dressed from head to toe in nothing but steel. _First would be the plated armor, but it'll be nothing compared to how the chain-mail would feel as the molten scorches our bodies._ They were as good as dead, he thought.

As if on queue one of the troops let out an agonizing scream. The captain craned his neck and watched in horror as the spectacle unfolded. The man's armor was bright orange and was beginning to deform. He dropped to the ground writhing in pain, the molten metal forming puddles as it rubbed onto the ground. He thrashed about trying to free himself from the deadly suit of armor that he had been trapped in. Several of his comrades made an attempt to pull the searing hot mess off of his body only to be rewarded with scorched hands.

It was a pitiful sight indeed. The Commander couldn't tear his eyes away from the horrific scene and watched helplessly as the soldier's screams finally ceased and his body lay limp with his eyes wide open. The soldier's entire skull had been scorched by his helmet, and his flesh was charred black, his mouth agape from his last attempt at relieving his pain through his screams.

As if that wasn't enough; one by one the others started to cry out, their armor completely orange and distorted as they thrashed and ran about in panic. The Commander also grimaced before letting out a cry of his own. He hadn't paid attention to his own situation, though it wasn't like he was in any position to work out a solution. He knew all too well that there was none. Not without the well at least.

Link scrambled past the soldiers who writhed about in pain like pathetic little worms. He had left Alon and the boy near the entrance, where they were still recovering from their first ordeal.

He was covered in soot from hat to boots, and sweat was trickling from his forehead and into his eyes. He tried to blink it out, but it stayed and stung.

He made his way past the well where Orville struggled to cope with the extraordinary pain that many of the other soldiers had given in to. He grimaced, tears filling his eyes. _Why?_ He thought. _Why did this have to happen? Why can't I do anything?_

His eyes desperately darted across the debris that now made up a majority of the village. _There has to be some way!_ _There has to be something I can do!_ He quickly glanced at the windmill, what was left of it anyway, and froze.

There it was, at the bottom of the plateau on which the windmill once stood; amongst the pile of debris was a small cube. It had been charred at the corners and almost all of it was completely dyed black from the soot, but there was no mistaking it with the metal cone that lay a few feet from it.

The instrument sat there in its deteriorated state, almost calling out to Link silently. Link was bathed in a sudden sense of nostalgia, and without even realizing, he had allowed himself to be absorbed in his memories.

 _Link stood in a poorly lit stone structure, inches away from a spinning platform which formed part of the village's only pump for drawing water out of the well._

" _Round and round we go!" The man sitting on the bench before Link shouted gleefully. He wore a teal t-shirt and dark blue shorts as well as wooden sandals. The man had a somewhat dense beard that ran along his face and a few inches lower than his chin, whereas his hair did the same, with none of it on the dome of his skull, but plenty of it healthy and black to run along the sides and back._

 _Link towered over him at just under six feet, complemented by his broad shoulders and muscular build. He watched the care-free man twist the crank on the brown box that sat on his lap, and listened to the notes that came out of the rotating speaker that sat on top of a flexible steel tube. The music that came out of the phonograph seemed almost carefree with its repeating metallic notes that rang out from low to high._

 _"Hey! Boy!" said Guru-Guru, the man who lived in the windmill. "You got yourself an instrument?"_

 _Link hesitated, but then reached into his pack and pulled out the Ocarina of Time, giving the man a good look at it._

 _"Wowza!" Guru-Guru exclaimed. "You'll be blowing some fancy wind out a' that tootin' thing now wontcha?"_

 _Link chuckled, before he put the ocarina to his lips._

 _"Quite the eager one, eh? Now, just hold on a sec." The man carefully cranked the box so that Link could hear the notes one at a time. "There ya' go! Nice and slow! Round and round and round she goes! Go too fast and trip yer' toes!" The man chanted as the music began to speed up._

 _Link played out the notes in his mind, it wasn't a rather complicated song, Sheik had made him learn some very technical ones, but this one was no where near as difficult as they were._

 _He took a deep breath and then transferred the air from his lungs through his lips and into the instrument. His fingers covered certain holes, switching as he progressed through the song. The Triforce symbol on the ocarina began to glow and he was surrounded by a grey aura that suddenly shot up and struck the ceiling before dissipating._

 _That was weird. Link thought. But things only got weirder when he felt a drip on his nose. A leak he thought, was it raining outside? He looked at the rays of light that shone through the out-of-reach windows. There was no way it could be raining outside._

 _More drops came down, now pitter pattering across the floor. Before long puddles had formed on the stone floor and Link and the old man were soaked. The rain was coming from inside!_

 _Guru-Guru was furious now, eyes wide open with rage. "YOU!" He shouted accusingly as he translated his frustration through the shaft of the music box almost mimicking the increased speed of the windmill's pump. "It was you all those years ago!" He cried out, competing with the windmill as it spun even faster. "You were the one who caused the well to dry out!" He screamed out, his hand a blur as it twisted the shaft with incredible speed, the melody only a blur of notes, no longer fit to call a song._

 _Link, at that time confused about what the man was saying, quickly made his way to the door. There was no use arguing when he himself couldn't explain the phenomenon which had just taken place. Though he couldn't help smiling when he heard a sharp snap and Guru-Guru's frustrated cry as he shut the door behind him._

 _Well_ , he thought as he came back to reality. _There's no one to stop me from doing it this time._

He pulled out the Ocarina of Time; Zelda had asked him to continue holding on to it for her. He placed the mouthpiece to his lips and blew into it. His fingers glided across the holes as he played the notes from low to high. The aura formed around him, just like before. He watched as it shot up into the air. There was a light drizzle. He had successfully played the Song of Storms.

 _Not enough._ He thought as he repeated the melody. Again the aura appeared, but even stronger this time before again departing for the heavens, this time followed by a low rumble. The rain was even heavier, but the fire only grew. Link was now certain that it wasn't a natural fire, it couldn't possibly get even stronger in the presence of this much rain.

He played the song yet again, and didn't stop until the aura nearly blinded him from the brilliant light that shone from it. It was a full out down pour and every drop felt like a bucket full of water. The air was filled with a hissing sound as the flames began to die out.

The soldiers sighed in relief as the water practically flash cooled their armor, letting out large puffs of steam in the process.

The boy with black hair was now awake and took in his surroundings. His hometown had been reduced to ashes; the sight brought him more pain than the constant ache of his body. But above it all, what made him tear up the most was the sight of crumbled windmill and the sound that used to fill it carry out through the air, though this time the notes were being played by a real set of lungs. He stood there, sobbing silently under the cover of the rain.

The hissing died down and the steam that poured out of the buildings was all gone as well. The clouds had also decided that it was time for them to take their leave and subsequently cleared out of the sky.

The whole village was now drowned in deep crimson, though it was hard to tell given the fact that almost everything had been either discolored to some extent or completely charred black.

The boy turned to face the village entrance which the cursed flames had previously blocked, the wooden sign on which the name of the village had been proudly spelt out was nothing but crispy black wood and ashes. Even the cliff faces on either side of the entrance were painted in soot.

He looked down at his feet. Now what would he do? His head suddenly jerked back up and he looked to his right. Link stood silently and stared at the village entrance, his clothes were dripping wet and beads of water ran down his face from his hairline. The solemn face he wore changed into a smile, but he wasn't smiling at the boy. Charging up the stairs, dripping wet red hair and drenched tan dress followed by a group of townspeople and officials. Malon quickened her pace after spying Link's filthy green hat.

She rushed over to where the boys were standing and wrapped her arms around her own brother first and Link second, not caring for the soot that rubbed off on her soaked dress. "Are you two okay?" she asked worriedly. They both nodded and she immediately began to pat them down, though she realized how useless it was with wet clothes, she would just have to wash them.

She examined their faces carefully for any sign of injury. "You're not hurt are you?" she asked. Minor scratches and scuffing made up for the worst of their injuries.

She sighed in relief, "Oh, thank the goddess." She said. Though her face only remained like that momentarily before contorting into utter rage. The three boys shuddered with fear; this was by far the scariest thing they had ever seen, though Link still clung to the fact that Redeads were much scarier.

That was before she screamed at them.

"WHAT WERE YOU TWO KNUCKLEHEADS THINKING!?" she roared out.

* * *

Malon carried two pales of water as she made her way to the trough which resided at the far end of the fenced off area that was in the middle of the race track. At her heels was the boy that she had found cowering in fear as she tore Link and Alon apart. Apparently they had saved him.

But it was the bruises and the cuts that lined his skin that had really bothered her. When she asked the boy where they came from he drew a blank, shrugging his shoulders at her. He had no trouble answering Malon's questions up until the point where she mentioned his mother. The fact that he lacked the answer for that question left him sobbing. Memory loss, she learned from one of the doctors later on.

She had brought them all back to the ranch when it had gotten dark and no one came to claim their son. That night she had made all three boys take three baths each. They had scrubbed their skin till it was practically red, except for the third boy who Malon tried to wash very delicately.

She dressed and bandaged the wounds that covered most of his body and then gave him a small vial of red potion which she had obtained from the doctor for his broken ribs. Within a few days he was able to walk around and help with the chores. Without any objection from her father the boy became a part of the family. It was at this time that Malon had also offered Link to stay in the ranch as well, knowing that he was contemplating on leaving the forest. He gladly accepted, and the two boys shared a vacant room.

The ranch was buzzing with activity ever since it became a makeshift hospital for all of the wounded soldiers. A majority of the Knight Academy staff and trainees had shown up to ease the burden of running the hospital. The doctors would make their rounds, literally, since the tents had been set up along the oval track.

Malon poured the contents of the buckets into the trough; fresh, clean water. The boy with much effort tried to do the same with his one bucket, part of the water spilling as he tipped it over, accidentally dropping the bucket itself into the trough. Malon giggled as she fished it out and handed it back to the boy.

He grabbed it with a bandaged hand, "Thank you," He said in a soft voice. The bandages ran along both arms, disappearing under the short sleeves of his black shirt, a hand-me-down from Alon which had to be modified so that loosely fit the smaller boy. The bandages also ran past the knees of his black shirts and into his black shoes. The only spot where the bandages were stopped was just above the elbow on his left arm where a dirty red scarf was tied.

It was so big on his small arm that the ends drooped almost halfway down his forearm. It was also covered in soot, and even when Malon had offered to wash it he refused, untying it only for his bath and then immediately retying it the second he got out.

"Iain," Malon said softly. It was the only thing that the he had been able to remember the day she met him. He couldn't even remember his last name. Not that it mattered, as far as anyone was concerned he was a Rancher now.

The boy looked up after placing the bucket on the ground beside him; his big, bright gaze of green meeting her's. He had soft, almost porcelain skin and a somewhat feminine face. He was the same age as the twins, something that surprised Link so much that milk squirted from his nose and onto the boy's face one time.

"Iain, where did you get that scarf from?" Malon asked. He looked over at it, the long ends looked like wings, fluttering whenever the wind blew.

"My mom gave it to me." He said before averting his gaze to the ground. "When my dad died working in the mountains, we were all very sad." His voice became softer as he continued. "I couldn't stop crying, and neither could mom. But after a while she was able to stop, but she wasn't able to make me stop."

Something soft hit the ground, leaving a dark circle in the dirt. "I asked her, who would keep us safe now that dad was gone. He was big and strong, what could mama do?" He lifted his face, he was smiling. He raised his left arm to show off the dirty scarf. "And that's when she tied this on my arm. She made me a promise, saying that so long as she was alive she would protect me, that she would keep me safe and let nothing hurt me. This scarf is proof of the promise she made. And after that, I never cried about dad again, because I still had my mom with me," he dipped his head again. "But now she's gone."

The story made Malon's heart melt. She lowered herself to his level so that their eyes met once more. "I promise you," she told Iain. "Even though your mother isn't around, you are now a part this family." she said. "And I promise you that as long as I'm here, as long as I'm alive, I will protect you. I will keep you safe. No matter what happens, I will be you shield. You will never have to fend for yourself so long as I'm around. And you will never have to go through the same pain that you have before. I promise."

It was enough to bring Iain to tears, tears of joy. Malon viewed it as a miracle, after all he had been through at his age, this boy could still be happy. She hugged him; the two of them now sobbing together.

And to the soft ground below, the rain continued to fall.

 **ShadowXLink86: _There you have it guys! What significance does this boy have to our story? And just who the hell is he? And where's his mother!? Find out on the next episode of...oh snap! Wrong story! Welp, see you next week!_**

 _ **And seriously guys, Read &Review, I'd like to know what you guys think of the story so far and any ideas of what might happen later on. ****Also if you guys have a better idea for the name of the chapter send me a PM or something and if I like it it'll be credited to your name.**_


	6. Chapter 4 - Castle Food

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, ...on second thought there's supposed to be a 'The' isn't there? Maybe...just maybeeee...Zzzzz**

 **ShadowXLink86: Hey guys, so I had taken my laptop apart, but sadly it died on the operating table. You know, I like to blame doctors for when their patients die, but this time I ain't taking the fall for it...though that would be completely unreasonable.**

 **Anyway, now I'm resorting to more ancient means of the pen and the paper! Therefore I might have to hold back on my publishing frequency, (Because I lost 4 chapters when the laptop died). I'll keep you posted if anything changes and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

 **Chapter 4 – Castle Food**

"Wow," Katelon said as she stared at the massive stone arches that lined the corridor.

"This is so awesome!" Alon shouted, jumping around excitedly. Malon observed the high marble ceilings and the stone walls that shone a brilliant pearl white. There were valuable paintings at every few feet on every wall, ornaments on pedestals that stood in the interval between, and on the opposite side, past the marble pillars was the courtyard. Iain was just as amazed as he stared at every little detail with wide eyes, he had never been to a castle before.

Link was also having trouble taking it all in, even though he came here almost every other week when Zelda would invite him to lunch. They would eat in the courtyard with a picnic blanket spread out over the fresh green grass; they would always pick the spot where they could see their favorite flowers as well as the Triforce fountain. The fountain had a large stone Triforce, with each triangle being upheld by one of the three goddesses, water spouting from each of their mouths.

When they had their lunch they would usually find something to play, and if it weren't a game Link would pull out the Ocarina and Zelda would join in with a harp. If they didn't feel like playing they would go to the Royal Archives, the largest private collection of books, and they would shut themselves in for many hours reading either stories or books of science and magic. Other times Link himself would entertain Zelda with stories of his adventure through time as per her request and she would listen intently to every word he said. Impa would always keep an eye on them, though she would do this through joining them in their little activities.

As a matter of fact it was Impa who appeared at the end of the corridor awaiting the gang's arrival. Her silver hair formed several bangs at the sides of her forehead and was pulled back into a pony tail, the end of which looking like it had been chopped off. She had a surprisingly rigid and muscular build for a woman and stood tall wearing a steel breastplate that covered everything all the way down to her abdomen. She also had tight blue shorts that stopped halfway to her knees, her shoulder guards were the same color, though her boots were long and black and were most likely steel-toed.

"We asked you to bring one particular guest, and yet," she said as she looked over the five of them. "You decided to bring the whole family along." Impa had a deep yet distinguishably feminine voice, yet she would always speak in a calm and relaxed tone; Link could never recall a time when she had raised her voice even the slightest.

"I thought they'd enjoy it," he replied. "Plus, Iain wouldn't go anywhere without Malon, and at that point the twins decided that they wanted to tag along too." Impa raised a silver eyebrow; it was only up close that one could truly see her brilliant ruby eyes, but something else caught his. Suspended below her neck was an insignia inscribed into a plate of silver. It was the very same one on the wall where they had found Iain; the eye with a tear dropping from it.

Impa noticed the boy staring. "What are you looking at?" she said sternly causing Link to look off to the side of her face. _I never imagined he was going through that yet._ She thought as she turned about and led them down the hallway.

"Link," a hushed tone called him, and he turned to face a scolding Malon. "Mind you manners!" she hissed. He was taken aback, giving her an innocent and confused look. Her eyes only narrowed and with that he turned his back on her and walked faster. _What did I do?_ He thought.

They followed her up a flight of stairs and down several corridors until they finally stopped outside a pair of large polished mahogany doors. Impa knocked, "Your highness. Your guests have arrived." she raised her fist to knock again when the door creaked open and out poked the small girl's face.

"Sorry about that," she said with a laugh, "I was just setting things up for you two when…" her voice trailed off when she noticed the three extra individuals. "Oh, cheese." she said. "I wasn't expecting this many guests." Impa shot Link an amused glare.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said scratching the back of his head nervously. Zelda sighed. "No matter, the study's big enough for all of us." she said beckoning all of them to come inside and then quickly said to Impa. "Please arrange for a few extra chairs and lunch, and once you're done with that I would like you to join us." Impa nodded and walked off.

The group entered the study, returning to their former state of awe. It was a large room with wooden shelves covering the gaps between the large arch shaped windows that brightly lit the room. At the end of the room between the two largest windows was a large wooden desk. It was neatly organized with several small stacks of paper as well as a few textbooks from her daily studies, one of which reading _The Hyrule Historia, The Land of the Goddess Then and Now_.

She looked over the group, searching for the two members of the group that weren't related to the ranch owner's family. She then asked Link and Iain to sit at the only two chairs that were positioned in front of the desk. Three servants hastily entered the room and put down chairs for the remaining members of the party.

"I initially wanted to take care of the preparations with my own hands," Zelda stated as she walked around to the other side of the desk and climbed into a large elegant chair. "I cleaned most of the room myself and reorganized my desk as you might have noticed." she said as she looked at Link, who nodded, obviously stating that her desk was a complete mess most of the time. "Oh, well. Close enough." she said. "Oh, where are my manners?" she looked up at Malon now. "I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule. You must be the Rancher's." she smiled, and then bowed her head respectfully. "On behalf of my father, The King, I would like to thank you for the great services that you provided by compensating for any of the expenses incurred through the use of your property and resources."

Malon bowed her head in return, "With all do respect, my stubborn father does not accept any help from anyone, he always says that 'The Goddess will provide in lieu of our sacrifices'. But I humbly thank you for your generosity."

This caught the princess off guard, how unusual for one to decline such an offer. "Very well, then." The princess responded. "On the other hand, it's been a few weeks now, how are the wounded doing?"

"They're recovering, but slowly due to the nature of the burns. I think it might be mainly because of how their chain-mail melted into their skin." Malon replied.

"Right," Zelda remembered. "My father provided the blacksmith with the funds necessary to upgrade his shop in order to make precision tools. He said it would cut a few hours from the average surgery time and reduce the risk of infection."

"I hope it'll reduce their pain as well, their screams are the worst." Katelon added.

"And so long as they don't have to live the rest of their lives as cripples." Malon said. Zelda nodded in agreement.

Her attention now shifted to the boy with black hair. "You must be Iain, correct?" He simply nodded in reply. She turned to face Link, "Where did you say you found him?"

"At one of the houses near the cliff side, I'm not sure whose it was, but it had a strange symbol on one of the walls, it seemed very familiar."

"How familiar?" Zelda inquired. "What did it look like?" At that moment Impa stepped in the room.

"The preparations have been made; lunch will be ready whenever you are." she stated.

"Would you believe me if I told you it looked like the one that she's wearing." He asked pointing to the tearing eye below Impa's neck. Zelda looked up at Impa who now stood at her side, arms crossed. Her eyes met with the princess's gaze.

"Ah, you mean the symbol of the Shiekah Tribe." Link nodded and Impa who was now standing beside the princess with her arms crossed now looked at her. "Impa, do you happen to know of a house in Kakariko that has the Sheikah Tribe insignia on one of its walls?"

She double blinked. "That's my house. And it actually has several of those insignias painted on its walls." Her eyes then narrowed, "Wait, so you're saying that you were in my house?" she glared suspiciously at Link. "What were you doing in there?"

 _Not this again,_ he thought. "No," Zelda cut in, "The question isn't what Link was doing in there," she looked back at Iain. "The question is what he was doing in there."

All eyes fell on Iain, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Iain, what were you doing before the fire started?" Zelda asked him. Her crystal blue gaze fixed on him. He answered with silence.

"Come on, Iain," Malon soothed. "It's okay. We know you didn't do anything wrong, but we just need some more information, that's all."

"I-I was looking for my mom." he answered without meeting her gaze. "So I was checking the house, and that's when everything became really hot." He stopped there.

"And," Zelda pushed.

"I can't remember anything else." he replied.

"Not even how you got those injuries?" she asked.

"No."

"Hmm," she thought, "Why were you looking for your mother in Impa's house?" This caught him by surprise.

"Impa?" He looked over to the tall woman, "I'm not sure actually."

Impa frowned at the boy. "I think I remember who this boy is." she informed the princess. "Remember how I told you I turned my house into a homeless shelter when I was asked to move into the castle?" Zelda nodded. "Well, his mother would come by every so often and cook for them."

"Is that so?" Zelda asked. Impa nodded.

"Whenever I would visit, they would tell me all about her pumpkin soup."

"What's her name? What does she look like? If you know these maybe we can help Iain with his memory." Zelda asked impatiently. They at last had some information.

"Her name is…or was…umm…something like…" Impa continued this, thoughtfully scratching her chin. Zelda clearly wasn't amused. "Oh, my. It seems that I have also forgotten."

"Go figure." Zelda grumbled.

"Isn't there any one else we could ask?" Katelon blurted.

Zelda shook her head. "The village had only two survivors, Iain and Dampe, and according to the investigation team's report there were only a handful of bodies, all of which unidentifiable and all of which male's." She looked at Malon, "I'm sorry about Mr. Ingo."

"It's fine." She sighed. "He was very kind to spend these last few months to take care of his dear granny. Though I guess his vacancy allowed for the comfortable accommodation for our latest two members." She said smiling at Link and Iain who now slept in Ingo's old room.

"Sadly, his body is among the missing." The princess stated.

"What do you mean by missing?" Alon asked. Zelda reached into her desk and pulled out a neatly bound volume, about a hundred pages thick. It was titled, _Investigation Team's Report on the Kakariko Fire_. The date implied that it had been completed the day before.

"According to the investigation team there were only six bodies found although the village population was just under a hundred."

"So a majority were…" Malon shuddered at the thought. Zelda knew what she was talking about.

"Our top scientists ruled that out stating that those bodies should have been no worse than corpses that they had retrieved, and that even if the flames were hot enough, which for a very short period they were, they claim that there should have been some sort of human remains left over."

"So, what did they say? Where are the bodies?" Katelon asked.

"The team couldn't agree on that one point, and for that reason the report is inconclusive." Zelda finally finished. "I was hoping that we could figure something out if Iain were able to remember who had beaten him." Iain stared at his hands, no longer in bandages. He truly wished that he could remember.

"What about the door that locked on us, what do you make of that?" Link asked.

"It is strange," Impa postulated, "However given the unnatural manner in which the fire had acted it would be safe to say that the two are linked to the same individual. Not only that, but they're capable of wielding magic."

Upon hearing that word the room went silent. Then Zelda said, "You guys must be hungry right about now, why don't we have lunch?" The mere mention of food made Katelon jump out of her seat with excitement and run to the door.

"I apologize your highness," Malon said, "We still have work to do at the Ranch, and as you know things are only going to get busier from here on out, and we need to get back very soon."

This made Katelon screech to a halt. "WHAT!?" she cried out. "We can't go now!"

"Yes Katelon." Malon said firmly. "We must go now."

"B-b-b-but, what about all the food and salad, and the desserts." she blubbered. "Think about the desserts!"

"Katelon, there'll be desserts for you soon enough, but first we have to setup for the Harvest Festival. There'll be a shortage of volunteers this time and the work load will be doubled since we have to make sure that the wounded soldiers can enjoy the Festival as well." And with that she dragged Katelon out the door but stopped shortly to courtesy. "Thank you for your hospitality!" she said, kindly smiling at the princess who reciprocated.

"Good luck with the preparations!" Zelda called out as they left the room and walked down the corridor, from the end of which she could hear Katelon's fit.

"I'll never get to taste castle food!" she whined.

 **ShadowXLink86: Poor Katelon! Will the gang ever find out who was responsible for the mysterious fire? Will they figure out the whereabouts of the missing corpses? Will Katelon ever get to taste castle food? You'll just have to wait and see!**

 **Remember to READ & REVIEW! Thanks again!**


	7. Chapter 5 - Festivities

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, Link and Zelda would have already be married by now...in every. Single. Game. Sorry LinkXMalon fans...**

 **ShadowXLink86: Sorry folks about the long wait, I just got caught up in a lot of work. There were a lot of guests visiting our community for a special event and so I had to work with a few friends in order to make sure that they had a nice stay. And then some other heavy work, and then I completely forgot to update last night. Sorry.**

 **Also this chapter feels like a filler to me, I tend to add stuff that seems useless for context, but I assure you that the festival will become much more important later on. (Plus, this is one of the chapters that I hadn't lost when my tiny little laptop dinasour died, so I wasn't about to rewrite it, I already have my hands full with that crap.)**

 **Please Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Festivities**

* * *

The Harvest Festival came around every year, and as its name suggests it is to celebrate the year end harvest. Folks from all over would come to join in on the festivities, which there was never a shortage of. There was always something for everyone and nobody was to feel left out.

But before any of the fun stuff could begin there was always the question as to who would be setting the place up. Though, it was always quite a rhetorical one. Everyone present on the ranch was working hard, either building stalls, or – like they had been for the past few weeks – helping the wounded in their recovery.

A first aid stall for their special needs would be among the new additions for this year's festival, as well as additional stalls for the tradesman as well as outhouses that dotted the field outside of the ranch.

Link and Alon had just finished piling the sacks of feed for their feathery friends – not to mention the cattle – before running off to borrow the tools from the blacksmith's cart in order to assist with the remaining stalls.

Katelon was inside the fenced circle grooming the horses before sending them into the stables; the caged off area would be needed for sports and therefore the designers would need to look over every inch of it. And Talon, like always, was asleep with the cuccos, using his favorite as a pillow; not like there was much difference between the two to begin with.

Malon on the other hand was busy planting small gardens along the perimeter of the ranch, with the help of Iain of course. The botanist from the Castle Market had supplied them with many beautiful flowers at a discounted rate. From tulips to snap-dragons and from daffodils to roses, there were so many to choose from. And worth mentioning was the fact that the perfumes given off by those flowers were just as pleasing as the colors themselves.

"So, Iain," Malon asked. "Which of these is your favorite?" He glanced down at the flowers, examining each and every one of them. It took him a while to think.

"I'm not sure." was his final response. Malon smiled. "What's your favorite?" he decided to ask in return.

She looked over her selection and frowned, "Unfortunately," she said. "My favorite isn't here. So, you wouldn't even know what it looks like."

"What's it called?" he asked.

"It's called -" right then a lumbering figure approached the two of them. He had huge rippling arms covered in scars; they seemed to be caused by severe burning. He had broad shoulders, and towered the two of them at almost seven feet. Malon's eyes went wide as he held out one of his massive hands. "A blue Azuril," he said finishing Malon's sentence.

It was Orville. He was allowed to move about on his own now that the bandages had come off, though he would not be allowed to do any heavy work for quite some time. He was in a black short-sleeved shirt, his long hair spiked off in random directions, and his chiseled face wore a smile.

"I was wondering where that went." Malon grinned as she plucked the flower out of his hand. She gave it a whiff, and then passed it to Iain. "So how's everything going? I heard that by the end of this week no one should be bedridden any longer."

"That's right," he confirmed, now crossing his arms over his chest. Malon winced when she saw the marks that the chain-mail had left on his arms. Noticing this he said, "It's not as bad as it looks. We'll be starting rehab tomorrow morning. They say that it might take a month or two, but who knows? Maybe I'll be ready in time for the show."

"Maybe," she agreed. "The boys'll be looking forward to it for sure." The captain's gaze shifted to Iain, who was staring at the blue-star he held in his hand.

The captain held out his hand to the boy. "If I may have this honor," he said. Iain hesitated, wondering what he wanted before giving the flower to the man, or bear, he wasn't sure which he was, though he did look like he might have fought one in the past.

He watched as Orville gently laced his large fingers through Malon's hair and placed the flower in it. "Thank you." he said as softly as he could. "For everything that you've done for us thus far," Malon examined his expression, though his smile was genuine, there seemed to be something more that he meant to say. "I highly doubt we can repay the debt we owe you, I owe you."

"What are you talking about?" now she was certainly confused. "You don't owe us anything, we're more than happy to help you." she was flooded with concern.

"We owe you folks everything, for tending to us for many weeks while we were unable to do anything for you." he continued.

"If I hadn't called you for help you wouldn't have been wounded, you wouldn't have lost any of your men." _What's going on with him,_ she thought _. Maybe he's tired from walking about before he should have been._

"No, that was our job. It was unavoidable." he lowered himself till their eyes met. She stared at his dark brown eyes, only now had she noticed the wrinkles that surrounded them. "Look," he said, and then sighed. "Maybe it's my age that's talking, but I've seen you grow into the wonderful young lady that you are now."

 _This isn't happening, is it?_ Malon thought.

"I owe you my life, for everything that you've done for us, for me."

 _Oh, my, gosh._ She thought. _This is actually happening._

"Dear, up until now I don't think I was ever as happy as I was until I wound up in this ranch." It was all clear to her now, the longing that he had in his eyes. "I know it was you who stayed up at night looking after us when the volunteers had dozed off when they shouldn't have, and I know that it was you who would sing for hours just to ease our pains even the slightest bit. And despite the long nights that you'd spend awake the first one out for the chores every morning would be you."

He gently took her tiny hands in his. And though they were covered in calluses he found out how soft they were compared to his. His gaze was unfaltering. "Up until I ended up here I always felt like I had such a heavy weight on my back. And now, because of you, I feel as light as a feather. It was only now that I realized what was missing in my life. It was you."

Malon looked down; she couldn't listen to anymore of this. But he gently lifted her chin once more making them equal. "I know this is from out of nowhere, but please. If you would let me have this honor," his voice was practically rasping as this was the softest he could ever speak. "I need you in my life, so will you be my wife?" his eyes were pleading, and he was holding onto her hand again.

Iain watched all of this unfold, bug-eyed, and on-edge. What was she going to say? He searched both of their faces desperately looking for an answer. Despite the obvious look of surprise on Malon's face there was no clear answer.

Malon looked away from him as she took a step back, withdrawing her hand from his. "I'm sorry," she said. "Though I understand your feelings, and know the pains that you've been going through, I can't accept." There was a lingering silence.

"Is it because of my age?" Orville then asked.

"It's more than that, I can assure you. A fifteen year difference doesn't come close to the thought of the constant danger that you'll always be putting yourself in." she smiled kindly, but her concern was obvious.

"Closer to twenty actually," he tried to joke about it, but the disappointment was clear on his face. His eyes actually seemed to get even dimmer. "So, you would rather me have a different profession?"

Malon laughed slightly, "Don't go quitting your day job. Like I said before; there's a lot to it than that." she brushed her fiery red hair aside. "You are true to your feelings and I'm sure that there'll be someone out there just for you, Captain. Someone that'll be able to handle your bold proposals." she laughed again, and this time even Orville joined in.

Malon ran a hand through her hair and removed the delicate blue flower and placed it in the Captain's hand. "Here, I heard that these can last years in water alone. I hope it doesn't take you that long to find your special lady." Orville nodded, and thanked her. "You're welcome," she said. "You're always welcome. And whenever you find her make sure you bring her here, I'd love to meet her." And with that she waved to him and he left to regroup with the soldiers.

She let out a huge sigh. It had gone much better than expected. "Nee-chan?" it was Iain. She had a feeling as to what it was in regards to. "Why didn't you accept?" he asked. She sighed again. "Isn't he a good guy?" Malon stared into his innocent green eyes.

"He is." She said

"Is it because he's too old?"

"Not really – wait, what were you doing this whole time?" she asked. How could he be so oblivious to something like this? She looked at his hand; he was holding an orange rose upon which sat a Blessed Butterfly. Its blue wings sparkled in the afternoon sun. With that observation she concluded that most boys had the attention span of a rock.

"Tell me this," she said to Iain, "How could you ever be happy by marrying such a man?"

"So long as I love the person it should be enough shouldn't it?" he reasoned.

"First off," she explained holding up her index finger to count, "I don't have the same feelings for him as he does for me. Secondly, he's a soldier. How can I expect to live with someone who isn't even there for me? I'll always be worrying about him, if he's okay. And what if he's killed? What should I do then? All I'll end up with is his battle equipment. What would I do with any of that?"

She put up a good point, Iain thought. He looked over at the group standing outside of the far side of the fence. They were all stretching their muscles which had remained still for many weeks, chatting amongst themselves and getting pumped for the rehabilitation process. They made it seem like it was a life worth living.

"Iain," Malon spoke sternly, "I don't want you to be like them. I want you to live a nice and peaceful life. You don't need to go about fighting battles that aren't yours, you don't need to raise your fist against anyone." she stared him in the eye, she softened up a bit. "I promised you that I would always look after you, that I would protect you, so don't you dare become one of them. Got that?"

Iain nodded.

"Promise me," she said.

"I promise." he said. She took the flower from him and put it in her own hair, the butterfly flew onto Iain's nose causing him to cross his eyes trying to look at it. Malon laughed, "Come on," she said picking up the little spade to dig another hole in the soft soil. "These flowers won't plant themselves."

The air was filled with electricity as folks gathered along the perimeter of the track fence, waiting for the show to begin. People from all over the kingdom had gathered at the ranch to attend the year end Harvest Festival. Many stalls were lined up along the inner wall of the ranch itself, selling food, dresses, jewelry and other commodities with many customers lined up to buy.

Link clung to the bars of the black fencing and oversaw the last-minute preparations of the Knight Academy. Trainees were running about with saddles to mount on the horses while Orville had taken a group of slightly older soldiers to brief them on the rules of the competition. Apparently that's what it was, as Link found out, the Knight Academy would always host a three day show in which their newest graduates would compete.

"So you're saying you've never heard of the Knight Games?" Alon asked Link while he and his twin both drank from a bottle of the ranch's milk. They both had white mustaches lining the top of their mouths.

"Not really," he replied.

"Jousting?" Alon asked.

"No."

"Obstacle course?"

"Uh-uh,"

"Dueling?"

"To be honest I never heard of the festival itself until recently," Link said flatly. This prompted Alon and Katelon both to spit their milk in surprise. Only this time it was on Link.

"Ugh! That's just gross!" Link complained. It was all over his clothes, the twins burst out laughing only to have more milk squirt out from their noses. A few by standers backed away when they saw the sight, making faces of disgust and some commented as to the kids upbringing. It didn't make a difference.

"Hey, guys!" Malon called out from behind. Iain was at her side drinking from a bottle of fresh spring water. "What happened to you?" she inquired from Link, milk dripped from his face and was already drying on his clothes. She slowly panned her gaze and looked at the twins, milk dripping from their mouths and noses. "Always have to make a scene, huh?" she sighed. "What kind of news was it that astonished them this time?"

"The fact that this is my first time being at the festival." he replied. This time he was sprayed by water. "Agh! What is your deal!?" he glared at Iain.

"I don't know why," he said innocently shrugging his shoulders. I just felt like this should have surprised me." Iain spoke innocently.

"Well," Link said while taking off his hat. "At least this'll clean me up a little bit." he shook his blonde hair about and sprayed everyone nearby with a milk-water mixture.

"Not so fast." Malon said, but was unable to finish as the sound of trumpets blaring filled the air. They looked over and saw all the Knights on horseback lining up to face the crowd which had now gone silent. Malon sighed. "Guess I'll make you take your baths after the competition." she told them quietly, though not before she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped all of their faces.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" one of the trainees called out. He was fully dressed in armor, and was speaking through a metal cone. "The Knight Academy's K-Games are about to begin! For those of you who don't know, this competition is for this year's graduating class here at the Knight Academy. Every year there's a heated competition for top of the class; therefore we select our top eight knights and pit them against each other to see who will graduate this class with honors. In these games their skills are tested to the limit! Everyday there will be a new competition which will bring forth yet another challenge for these young men. The judges will tally up each knight's individual score based on a certain criteria that we will announce and on the final day the scores will be added up. The victor of the games will be awarded with this on the night of the graduating ceremony!"

As if on queue Orville stood up and held out a badge the size of a fist. It was shaped like a shield with a blue base and silver edges. In the center was a simple red loftwing, the tip of its head, wings and legs all sticking out past the border. "This is the Hylian Medal of Honor," Orville bellowed out to the crowd. "This will be awarded to the victor of the games!" He held it up in the sky, it glinted in the sunlight and he turned around for everyone to get a good look. The crowd began to cheer.

"Now," the announcer cut in. His tone was different, there wasn't as much excited energy in it. "Before we start we would like to take a moment and remind you folks of the tragic fire that had consumed Kakariko Village not too long ago." There crowd began murmur, if wasn't a topic that they wanted to discuss here.

"As you all know the fire left Kakariko uninhabitable and claimed the lives of its entire populace. The fire claimed some of our own as well, and unfortunately one of the previously selected knights is unable to attend this graduating ceremony of his. We would like to request everyone to take a moment of silence to remember the poor souls that are unable to be here with us on this day of celebrations." He lowered the cone and bowed his head, the audience followed suit. This lasted for a minute.

"Now, without further ado we would like to request his Highness the King of Hyrule, to announce the start of the games!"

Everyone began to cheer as the monarch stepped out from the balcony behind them. He was accompanied by some of his advisors and Zelda who smiled when she spotted Link in the crowd. The King made a brief speech congratulating the citizens on another successful year. "Now," he said, "let the games begin!" There was more noise as the crowd faced the announcer once more.

He quickly introduced the contestants to the audience. "As tradition states, each of our young knights will give a token of their commitment to a young lady in the crowd." Squeals erupted all around; no doubt there were many fan girls for the handsome knights. And with that they were each handed a lance that matched the color of their tunics they then placed a ribbon that was also the same color around it and cantered about on horseback scanning the crowd for the right girl.

The green knight stopped right in front of them. He had long black hair that went past his shoulders; and a short beard on his chin. He bowed his head and lowered the tip of his lance, poking it through the gap in the fencing. It was for Malon. Though she couldn't stand the academy, she still accepted the silk ribbon for Link and Alon's sake. The knight drew his lance back up, and that's when they all heard a ripping sound.

The man on horseback's face flushed red with embarassment; his lance had accidentally caught on Malon's tan dress. This wouldn't normally be a problem accept for the fact that Malon had been growing lately as all fifteen year-olds tend to do, and the dress was getting a bit small for her. Therefore the tear that was made reveal a bit more of her thigh than Malon was comfortable with.

Katelon was the first to rush and cover her side, "Nothing to see here," she squeaked. She quickly arranged the boys around her so that no one could get a glimpse and they all ushered her back to the house.

"I'm sorry!" the green knight called out just as she disappeared from sight.

"It's okaaayyy!" Malon cried over the crowd.

 **ShadowXLink86: Oh no! Did someone shout fanservice!? Tch! Hell no! I'm not about that. Sorry this chapter was a load of crap, but I promise that the next will be much better! I will be introducing a new character then!**

 **And remember folks Read & Review!**


	8. Chapter 6 - Treasure Hunter

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, however I do indeed own this. You got that!? IT'S MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!**

 **ShadowXLink86: Hey there, guys. Been a while, I'm sorry. I've been busy as of late, which is just a load of crap because I was just procrastinating on writing much newer chapters. But, since I've been taking too long I have decided to update once every two weeks. Again, I apologize. School is starting for me in about a week so it'll be even harder for me to make new chapters, but I will try my best. Sorry, I just told another lie! But anyways please enjoy.**

 ***Warning* This is not a filler chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Treasure Hunter**

* * *

The competition turned out to be a bust. On the final day one of the competitors had thought it would be a good idea to accidentally step on one of the cuccos. The result was a horde of them flinging themselves at the crowd, whom in their attempt to evacuate the ranch created a stampede. There were trashed stalls and trampled flower beds and loads of garbage littered the ranch. Luckily, none of the Ranchers or the Royals were harmed in the fray.

The first thing that had actually come to Malon's mind after everyone assured her that they were okay was, _Who's going to clean this up?_ Frankly everyone knew the answer to that, though they were immediately occupied with the buffet table that had been supplied by the palace cooks themselves. Zelda had kindly asked for it to be brought over so that Katelon could get a taste of what castle food was like.

Zelda watched as her father, his advisors, and even the Rancher's (including Link and Iain) stuffed their faces. Katelon looked like she was in paradise and with a mouthful of food she thanked the princess.

Zelda cracked a smile, but that didn't keep her from saying, "Father, that buffet was meant for hundreds of people. There's no way you can finish all of it!"

"We shall darling!" he answered back, a mouthful of roast chicken. He took another bite out of one of the legs that he was holding before saying something that Zelda was all too familiar with. "We shall, for I am the king!"

"Right, how could I forget," Zelda said sarcastically, massaging her temples.

"Relax, none of that'll go to waste." Malon said with a smile. She pointed a thumb in the direction of the cuccos. They were in a group at the far end of the ranch hungrily eyeing the buffet table. "They'll take care of it no problem, just make sure you get a bite before they start." She told her. Zelda reluctantly joined them and with the help of Malon she slapped together a nice burger. She rarely got to eat those since they weren't 'princess like'.

The second they all stepped away from the table Malon put two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle. And with that the buffet table disappeared in a cloud of dust and feathers…and bawking.

Talon and the king quickly made off in the direction of the track to chit-chat. "Always trying to escape his responsibilities," Zelda remarked.

"My old man's no different," Malon said as she tied a brown, worn leather apron above her new purple long-skirt. It had originally started off as just a long sheet of silk that Iain had bought with all the pocket money he had after her old dress got ripped. When he presented it to her she pulled out her thread and needle and immediately got to work. She had also modified her old dress so that the two together would make one new outfit, and there was enough silk left over for her to make another two skirts. She had also snagged one of her father's belts, it bore a silver Triforce on it; a gift from the king which had been forgotten in the attic within days of receiving it.

The apron she wore had been left by the blacksmith and Malon used it to keep the skirt clean as she worked. Though silk is strong it would still get dirty. And this was fifty rupees worth of silk.

The king and Talon stared at the rubble as they walked about the track.

"To imagine, if that fool in blue hadn't stepped all over that bird of yours he might have actually won the games." The king said spitefully.

"I dunno. I think the dude in green stood a much better chance. He was only trailing behind by a couple of points." Talon pointed out.

"Meh," said the king.

"Meh," Talon agreed. A metallic shine amongst the ruins of the portable blacksmith stand caught their attention. The two of them curiously approached it. It was a small object, the size of a fist, lay underneath the pile of wood and swords.

Talon, with great care, reached through the rubble and fished out the object, holding it up for the king to see.

"No, way!" The king shouted with glee.

"Hoho, look who's scored big!" Talon grinned handing it over for the king to see. It was the Hylian Medal of Honor. "I guess the Captain must've dropped it in all the commotion." Talon mused.

The king stood straight and puffed his chest out, his chin high with pride. In a formal voice he said, "I, Captain Orville present to you, O young knight, the Hylian Medal of Honor!"

Talon cracked up. He played along with the king, puffing out his chest and in a heartily voiced his thanks, "Thank you, Sir! It is a great honor for me to accept this from you on this joyous day." He reached out to grab the medal when one of the cuccos flew past and snatched it from the king's hand. The two men turned around to face the little bird that held the badge in its beak.

"Give it here Koko," Talon said holding his hand out expectantly. "Come on, I don't have all day." The bird let out a bawk and flew away to join its friends. "HEY! Don't bawk with your mouthful!" Talon yelled after it.

"So," The King said amusedly. "That's your special cucco, am I right?"

Talon crossed his arms at him. "Yeah, and he still has better manners than you."

* * *

A few days later...

* * *

Link snuck past yet another wolfo; they were everywhere. The beasts would walk about on their hind legs like a hairy man, broad shouldered, tall and muscular. They should have been able to smell him if it weren't for the fact that Link had covered himself with mud. To them he smelled just like everything else in the Forest Temple, foresty.

 _So, there is a perk to going back in time,_ Link thought. Everything had become easier the second time around. _There._ He passed through the door and entered a dark twisted hallway. He made his way up and was confronted with a door at the end of it. On the other end was a slightly better room in terms of lighting. He was standing on one of several dirt platforms, what he was looking for wasn't much further.

He did a running jump to clear the distance between the first of the platforms. If he had missed he would have had to enjoy the twenty foot drop on solid ground. He had no intention of spending more than a few hours here.

A loud clawing sound echoed off of the walls. At first Link wasn't sure where it was coming from; he glanced from side to side, his heart-rate increasing. Then he remembered to look down where his feet were. His shadow had been completely consumed by another, and that second shadow kept growing as the clawing sound got louder.

Link faced in the direction of the next platform and backed up to the edge of his own. The shadow followed him, getting even bigger. _NOW!_ He sprinted to the end of the platform and leaped to the next one and the one after that. His foot slipped and he clung to the edge of the platform right before the next door. He struggled to pull himself up; the mud had made it tougher for him to grip the tiled surface. He grunted and finally climbed to his feet.

The sound had stopped. He looked back to see that two platforms away was the hand of a monster. Or was it a monster of a hand. Link didn't care, whatever if was, it disgusted him and if he didn't deal with it now it would definitely get him later. The hand monster, if he could call it that, walked on four fingers, fingers with nails as well as a thumb. On the reverse of the monster's palm was a single blood-shot eye.

It stared straight at Link, and for a second his heart stopped. _Don't panic,_ he reassured himself. _Those things have poor vision, it can't see me._ That only added a layer on top of the problem he currently faced. _They only have poor vision in the light that is._ In a dark place, like where it resides in the dry-mud ceiling the monster's eye was capable of seeing through walls, hence its initial attempt at him. If it didn't grab its prey on its first try it would definitely jump back up into the ceiling, being even more vigilant during its second attempt.

Recalling all of this information Link produced his slingshot and loaded a Deku Seed in it. He pulled back aiming straight for its eye. He took a deep breath and let it loose. The monster let out an ear splitting shriek, rearing up on its thumb and pinky and exposing a palm full of sharp teeth. It charged somehow knowing when to jump across the first platform. Link deduced that it must have memorized the layout of the room from its abode up above.

One platform short of its target, the monster leapt the gap that separated them. Link was ready, but this time he had a Deku Nut to serve as his bullet. He let it loose and instantly brought his forearm up to cover his eyes. There was a bright flash as the nut made contact, square in the monster's eye. There was a thud and Link looked up. It was nowhere in sight, but he could hear the desperate, agitated cries of the monster in pain down below and decided to peer over the edge of the platform. It was writhing about, screaming in pain as smoke plumed out from its photosensitive eye, and then it went still.

That was the trick. To prevent it from going back you had to agitate it. The resulting charge it would make would buy time for this sort of attack.

Link turned around and passed through the next door into another spiraling hallway, this one more so than the last. Just ahead lie a switch, a silver crystal which when he kicked it glowed a bright gold. He back tracked to the room with the platform. Now the carcass of the monster hand lay motionless in front of him, _Floormaster_ , he finally remembered. The platforms were now above his head, the switch had actually flipped the room on its head. _That means…_ he thought as he raced across the floor.

He halted in front of a wooden chest. Now, normally he would have just bashed the thing open with a kick or two, the problem being that this chest wasn't closed. He quickly looked inside, feeling the bottom just to reassure himself. He knew that none of the chests had trap doors in them. He pulled at his hair. _Empty! Again with the empty!_ It was beginning to get on his nerves as this was the third temple that he had revisited and it was the third time that he turned up with no clear gain.

 _What a shame,_ he thought. The bow and arrows would have made things easier on his way out of the temple, not to mention that it would have saved him the trouble of buying it from the market. That shop owner was always trying to rip people off. Going back in time had some really obvious downsides; for starts he had lost all of the equipment he had acquired in his quest to banish Ganandorf.

To make matters even worse was the fact that when he had returned to Hyrule from his two years in Termina he had lost all of the equipment he had painstakingly acquired. The only exception to this being the Gilded Sword and the Hero's Shield. The Guilded Sword managed to come back with him through the rift between the worlds, and the Hero's Shield transformed back into the Hylian Shield. The lesson learned from this; gold dust makes for very sturdy building material.

To add insult to injury was the cherry on top of his problems. Here he was trying to re-steal his equipment and somebody kept beating him to it. _How is that even possible!? I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who has visited this place within the last millennia._ Yet here he was, making his way through the treacherous dungeons of his past – without destiny prompting him.

The main difference this time around was that he had experience which somewhat balanced out the absence of his sword and his adulthood strength, barely. The other being that this was his first visit here by choice.

The Gilded Sword was currently with the old man who owned the Lakeside Laboratory. He helped out with R&D for the Knight Academy and worked closely with the blacksmith in order to fabricate "only the best weapons", well, they thought they did until he got a good look at the Gilded Sword.

It was "out of this world" the old man stated. It wasn't even from this world, the gold and blue diamond pattern of the blade itself he had never seen before. Then it was the question as to how it was forged, gold being used for a sword was unheard of, it was too soft, yet the blade was incredibly durable.

And Link was stupid enough to lend it to him so that he could research new forging methods. Good thing he didn't tell him it was time-proof.

 _Oh, well._ Link thought, at least he was smart enough to regret it, if that made any sense.

There were hurried footsteps from behind and the door slammed shut. At least he had a lead now, he thought as he rushed after them. He rushed down the twisted hallway and through several other corridors, the whole time he was only close enough to catch a glimpse of a long black cloak. Whoever this person was, they were fast.

The chase had led him to a large room with a ramp. He made his way up to a platform surrounded by a guardrail. . Surrounding the circular platform were identical paintings all depicting a dirt road and trees on either side of it. They were all several times his height when he was an adult. He felt like he was in a theatre, and whatever drama was to take place would involve him. _So long as it's better than the plays they show in town,_ he thought.

The room was poorly lit. Link could just make out the figure standing in front of him. The cloak concealed most of this person's features; the hood was pulled over their head and apart from a single sparkling golden eye. Was this a he or she? More importantly, was he dealing with a typical run-of-the-mill thief or someone who truly wasn't afraid of getting their hands dirty?

That question had been answered for him within the next thirty seconds.

"Who are you?" Link asked, it was more than just a question. The thief just stood there, absolutely still, their gaze of gold gave nothing away.

"I said. Who _are_ you?" his eyes narrowed, "I'm not going to ask you again." His patience had already been worn thin by his third successively vain adventure thus far, but this mute thief wasn't making things any better, mostly due to the fact that all of this was their fault.

Link judged the distance between the two of them, it was just enough for him to safely crack open a deku nut on the intruder and bring them down. He had already quietly slipped the nut into his hand; its smooth wooden shell wasn't much bigger than a tangerine.

The stranger was a step ahead, there was a bright flash. Link could see nothing but blinding light as if he was in the midst of an incredibly thick blanket of fog, and there was a high pitched ringing in his head that just wouldn't subsist. He turned around hoping to see anything more than the opaque whiteness before him. Nothing. Not his hands nor his feet.

He felt a heavy boot jab right into his gut, knocking the wind right out of him. He felt his feet trip over something hard and metal, _the railing._ Beyond the railing from what Link had determined his first time here was a very long drop. He frantically flailed his arms hoping to catch on something, and by some miracle his arm hooked on the very railing he had tripped on.

His vision wasn't going to return any time soon, meaning that he wasn't about to jump back into the arena just yet. He clenched his teeth. Never had he felt so helpless, or at least, he didn't remember what it was like to be helpless up until now.

This feeling was cut short when he was grabbed by the arm and dragged back onto the platform. He heard the cloak ruffle as his savior straightened. _The thief._ He lay there in absolute shock as the thief's light footsteps traveled down the ramp and out of the room.

Only half a minute later his vision returned, but he still lay there, dumbfounded.

"Why?" he asked the stained glass ceiling.

* * *

The thief made her way out of the forest at full tilt. She expertly navigated the lost woods on her first try as though she had carefully mapped out the place bit by bit in her head. The only time she even dared to slow down was when she had reached the clearing, and even then she continued a few more hours on foot.

It was only when the last of the sun's rays were about to disappear that she decided to set camp in a wooded area. An area away from the cursed lost woods, somewhere near the centre of Hyrule massive field, an area which she hadn't been before. Still, she knew that she was much better off over here since there was close to no monster presence out in the open.

She set camp under a massive oak tree, which she imagined to be at least three centuries old. She gathered dead branches and leaves that littered the ground. Arranging the branches, twigs and leaves in what she thought to be the most ideal positions, and when satisfied she pulled the hood of her cloak over her eyes and tossed a deku nut in.

The bright flash would not only scare any predators, but it would also generate enough heat to get the fire going.

The journey back would take another full day, and once she properly rested she would make the trip to visit her boss. She untied a brown leather sack from her belt and seated herself on the cold ground, leaning against the oak tree.

Overcome by a sudden impulse which she deemed as curiosity, she eyed the brown sack that lay beside her against the tree trunk. Without any second thought she loosened the knot around the opening of the sack and pulled out a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

The craftsmanship was like that she had never seen back home, or ever. The elegantly carved and polished wooden bow was perfectly balanced in her hand; it was light yet very rigid. The tension of the string was perfect as well.

She then moved on to the arrows, again they were perfectly balanced; the heads were shaped steel and had grooves that would prevent them from experiencing any unwanted air resistance. Even the quiver had such elegant designing and could deform to absorb any shock without breaking.

This was the third temple that she had scavenged successfully, and each time she was blown away by the artifact she had obtained. No wonder she was being paid top rupee for this, these artifacts are truly priceless.

How her boss knew? She wasn't about to ask, it was already strange enough that she could layout all of the details about a place that had easily not seen a visitor for over a thousand years.

And to be absolutely honest, she decided that she didn't want to know. That was the thief's code and she wasn't about to break it. Doing something like that would only invite trouble, and she could feel it.

The one detail the boss had forgotten to mention was that there were other people who possessed the same knowledge as they did. They knew the trick to flipping the room on its head and had almost beaten her to the treasure. Luckily the intruder's fight with the Floormaster had given her the chance to slip through the door and wait for him to run by and hit the switch and she had enough time to get what she had come for. Sadly, her escape had been a bit messy.

She recalled seeing the boy dressed in green, covered in dried mud. He was clever, knowing how to get past the monsters that stood in his path. He would have proved to be a dangerous foe if he had not been so easy to read. That was the problem with the good guys, what you see is what you get, and she had noticed the same something in his hand that she was hiding under her cloak.

She didn't have many other options, and she never had any regard for the boy's life. That was, at least until she had seen the mark on his left hand as he hung from the railing. She was this close to snuffing out the boy's life, her expensive hiking boot was hovering just over his hand, but, she saw it.

Three golden triangles imprinted, on the boy's hand. A tattoo maybe? _Where have I seen this before?_ She wondered.

Whatever the case was, if the boy died it was likely that she would have been in trouble with her boss. "Get in there, get the artifact, and get out. No one gets hurt. Not you, nor anyone else, we can get into lots of trouble for this without anyone dying," her boss's words echoed through her head.

A cool wind blew, causing her to shiver. "Is that clear?" she could just picture her boss's sharp gaze piercing right through her. Was it their status that made them so intimidating? Another breeze came in and she watched as it caused the fire to burn brighter sending glowing embers swirling upwards.

"Crystal," she muttered.

 **ShadowXLink86: I just wonder who the hell this girl is, don't you? You'll can expect to find out soon...not really...more like a month. Also, stay tuned as I will be soon releasing the first chapter to my Crossover Fiction, titled _'The Triforce Cup'_. For more info visit my profile page. **

**Oh, yeah, and don't forget to Read &Review!**


	9. Chapter 7 - Knight Sky

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, period.**

 **Cover art is by suzumiyamisa on deviant-art, if you were wondering.**

 _ **ShadowXLink86: [Random yelling in background] I know, I know. I'm sorry, I really am. I've just been busy since school started. I attend school for six days a week so it's kinda hard to make time for myself to publish or write. But, for your patience you will be rewarded with the longest chapter that has been written so far. Though, this was before my dinasour (laptop) died, so the writing quality isn't so great, but hey! The slow and boring stuff is about to come to an end!**_

 _ **(Come on guys, let's here some applause!)**_

 _ **[get's hit by a shoe].**_

 _ **Ouch! I deserved that. Like I was saying, things will pick up in chapter 9. Sorry for the wait, but I'll make sure to try harder! Enjoy!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Knight Sky**

* * *

He sighed, completely mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the night sky with its tiny white lanterns scattered about. There was only one thing that could compete with the beauty of any scenery that he saw, and that was Malon's singing. It was the same tune, the same song, every single night. And with the clear view of the stars and the moon, and the sound of Malon's voice, this was by far the best experience he had ever had.

To top it all off, he would go through it every night. Whether it was clear or cloudy, she would sing. Only when it was rainy would she avoid going outside, but that didn't stop her from singing in the farm house. It was a song that nobody could possibly get sick of. It was a song that sank deep in your heart and it would be long before you realized that you were humming the same tune. Was it the bitter-sweet scent of the tune that made it so intoxicating?

 _Don't think too hard, just enjoy it._ He told himself as he continued to stare up at the heavens. The glow of the moon made the sky seem more blue than black. He sighed again, there were times he wished that morning never came. _Or at least midnight,_ he thought as the singing ceased. He sighed one last time. _Guess I'll call it a night._

He listened to Malon's footsteps softly padding across the grass towards the farmhouse. They stopped a few steps short of the door. Before he knew it Malon had clambered onto the balcony and vaulted over the railing, landing a foot away from where his head was. He bolted upright.

"Relax," she said, shifting her weight onto her knees. She looked up, "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

He nodded, "Yeah." He was soft spoken, but his voice had grown over the years.

"Does my singing keep you up? Is that why you're always here?"

"N-No." He stammered, "Actually, I really like it." He admitted.

"Oh, good." She smiled, "I was actually wondering why you'd always be up there at night."

Curiously he asked, "How long have you known?"

"I'm not sure, two years maybe?" She scratched her head.

 _Two years,_ he thought, _that's when I first started._

"I don't know why, but most nights when I sang, I would feel sort of lonely. But it suddenly changed, I felt like someone was watching over me. That, and the fact that your head is always too close to the railing. I would always see it when I walked back to the house."

"Is that why you've been singing closer to the house now?" he asked. Before that, Malon would sing in the middle of the enclosure. The only horse ever allowed out at that time would be Epona, a stunning copper mare with a platinum mane and socks. Epona was probably the best horse they had on the ranch, and she belonged to Link.

"I did it so that maybe it would help you sleep." She seemed a bit embarrassed by having to tell him these things. He felt the same way for being noticed.

She sat down, leaning against the railing beside him. "Do you know about the constellations?" she asked.

"Sort of," he replied. Constellations were very elusive. As far as he was concerned constellations were groups of stars that formed figures, though in reality they looked nothing like how the books made them seem. The drawings always looked like they were forced, like someone tried to see something that wasn't even there.

Malon pointed to the sky, "Look, there's the Goddess Hylia."

"Where?" It all looked the same to him. Just little white dots planted at random across a deep blue canvas. What sort of mental gymnastics did someone's mind have to do in order to see these things? He immediately scolded himself. How could he ever think such a thing of Malon.

"Look closely," she said drawing on the air with her finger, "That's her body; those make part of her dress, that's her bow, that's the arrow, and see that? Those are her arms; they look like they're pulling back on the bow." She made the gesture with her own arms, elbow back and flexing, as if she held the weapon in her own hands. "See it?"

For a moment he said nothing, staring blankly at the sky, gaze fixed but relaxed. Then, "Yeah, that's a first." The lines drew themselves, there she was, the Goddess, but also the warrior. She had helped her people fight against the Demon King many millennia ago. She had barely claimed victory before succumbing to her wounds.

"Seeing her there," Malon said, "on those lonely nights, made me feel safe." She ran a hand through her hair, some of it brushed against his face. It smelled good, like after a spring rain, and its scent lingered in the air even after it was pulled away. "I feel like she's always watching over us, always protecting us," she looked at him. "But with you around, it's different, I don't feel alone."

She sighed, "It won't be long before I'm all by myself again."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember? Tomorrow they'll be leaving for the Academy."

 _Already?_ He could have sworn they still had a few weeks left. "Wait, you still have your dad, Katelon and I. You won't be alone."

"How long will that last?" She said in despair, "Dad is getting old, and you might not realize it, but he's actually very tired nowadays. Katelon's already found a job in town as a cook."

"And me? You think I'll just leave you?" Just the thought of it made him cringe.

"You might not realize it, but trust me, not even you will stay here for long."

"What if I like it here, which, by the way, I _do_."

"Look," she put an arm around him and gently ruffled his hair. "I'm only trying to raise you the best I can. I want you to go out and see the world, I want you to learn new things, I want you to find a lovely woman and have a family and to be happy. You can't do any of that on this busy Ranch. You can come here and tell me about everything, I won't stop you from visiting or leaving."

"What makes you think that all of that will happen?" He asked.

"Because I've seen it happen, I go into town, I meet people, and then they're gone. It's life."

"I'm here by choice," It was all he could say to oppose her at this point.

This made her laugh, "No you're not, we adopted you. Remember?"

"That's not funny." He mumbled, though he smiled at his own foolishness.

This made her laugh even more. She fell into his lap, catching her breath. "You know? You make a nice pillow." He snorted at the remark. "Ah, I could actually sleep here," she said closing her eyes. For a few moments she lay there, perfectly still. Was she actually asleep? He watched her curiously.

Malon jolted up, her head crashing right into his. "Ow!" They both yelped simultaneously rubbing their foreheads. Malon giggled, "Sorry, I just remembered that you should be in bed right now."

They both rose to their feet. "It's funny, really," Malon said looking straight at him. They were both the same height now. "I'm trying to decide whether you're more of a son to me or a brother." She drew him in for a hug. Now that she was eighteen, fully matured, moments like this became awkward for him.

His heart was in his throat when he asked her, "Why can't I stay here, with you?"

And she whispered back in his ear, "Because, only I'm crazy enough to want to be here for the rest of my life."

She released her grip and began to play with his hair. Two pairs of black bangs, one to go over each eye, the rest of his hair spiked backwards. She smiled, his face had become less girly as he grew up, but his skin remained pale. She stroked his cheek, then bent his head forward and kissed it.

"Good night, Iain. Make sure you get some sleep, because starting tomorrow we'll have a lot more work on our hands." He watched her as she walked through the door on the balcony which led to his and Link's room.

He stood there for a moment, staring at the sky slowly tracing over the cluster of stars from before, and surely the goddess reappeared, still aiming the bow as if waiting for eternity for her target to present itself. Although she was there, Iain felt lonely and weak. _So much for her presence,_ he thought.

He looked back at the door. _You're wrong. Every one of us is willing to spend a lifetime here._

* * *

"Look at you boys! All grown up and ready for soldier life!" Talon laughed heartily before suffocating both boys in his world renowned bear-hugs. Link's face practically turned red and he tried to catch his breath after he was released, but Malon and Katelon both strangled the two in the same manner, before giving them each a kiss on the cheeks.

After hugging it out with Iain, both boys stood by their horses. Link with Epona, and Alon with Duster – a golden brown horse with a white mane, socks, and a brown muzzle. Link now stood at just over five and a half feet, Alon on the other hand was just under six. Both were broad shouldered, though Link had a light to medium build, whereas Alon's was visibly large. In a sense their training had already paid off.

Link double checked his luggage. Getting to the castle took at least an hour and a half, and he wasn't about to make a trip back. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

It had already been five years since he had defeated Ganon. It had surprised him as to how much could actually change in that time. He was definitely smarter and before long he would be stronger than he was an adult the first time. _The first time_ , he thought, _how many people got to be an adult twice?_ The other apparent difference was that he had outgrown his Kokiri Tunic, and for almost two years now he had been wearing common clothes. It was more like Malon's revenge for showing up all muddy that day with the excuse, "I was hunting for treasure, but forgot to tell you where I was before I snuck off." She had decided to throw it out rather than clean it.

"Be safe!" Malon called out as they climbed onto their mounts. Both horses reared up and whinnied and the two waved as they galloped out the stone walled entrance of the ranch.

Iain smiled, "They look so happy, maybe I should go to," Malon turned to give him a scornful look, "Or maybe not," he laughed.

* * *

It felt like an eternity, but once they finally crossed the drawbridge they were buzzing with excitement all over again. And yet in that busy little market place it felt like another eternity was yet to pass. They wished so badly that they could have galloped right through the streets, but they knew better, plus it would go against the spirit of the work that they had signed up for.

Passing through the cobblestone streets filled with people of all sorts looking for a bargain at the cheap wooden stalls. Children ran about with their friends in a game of hide-and-seek, while others played catch, and a pair of twins juggled between themselves three colored balls. A band stood in the center of the market creating an almost celebratory atmosphere. It seemed as though everyone was smiling, even the boys couldn't help themselves.

The music gently faded as they made their way through the deserted alleyways. There were far fewer people, just the occasional few women returning from a morning of shopping, few stray dogs here and there skipping about underneath the horses' feet, or even the small clusters of shady looking youngsters. Link recognized a few thieves from way back with whom he had a run in with. They were good kids, just trying to survive. _They wouldn't hurt a fly._ He flashed them a smile, which at first had taken them aback, but like most thieves their first instinct was feeling heat, and in sync they turned on their heels and disappeared.

They continued on until they came across what they were looking for. They had long left the alleyway behind, in a cobblestone clearing where fifteen feet doors set into walls almost three times their size. A guard stood atop the wall. He peered over the edge, pushing his helmet back so that it didn't fall off his head. "Are you boys amongst the new recruits? Or are you just visiting?" The man shouted down.

"Yeah, we're here for training!" Alon called up.

The man nodded. "I thought so. Who'd wanna visit this place anyway?" He smiled, straightening up before shouting, "OPEN THE GATES!" he coughed, "ugh, I always lose my voice on orientation day."

The heavy doors creaked as they swiveled open, two cadets pushing them. Both dressed in uniform, black long-sleeved shirts, and black fatigues (are fatigues loose pants?), and black leather boots. They had their sleeves rolled up to their elbows, and one of them, blonde with hazel eyes leaned on the door. "Looks like you two are the first ones here."

The boys dismounted. "Man…I knew we left early…" Link said scratching the back of his head.

"We must look like a bunch of dorks…" Alon added.

"Then again there's none of them are here to witness." He pointed out.

They both looked straight at him, dejectedly (double check for correct usage). "Except for you…" they said.

"Oh, yeah," he chuckled. "Here, we'll take you guys to your rooms." He led them down the main courtyard. It was busy. Cadets were all over the place, transporting various pieces of equipment, lugging around travel packs, some were just standing around chatting. He pointed at a few posts on the far right, "Just hitch your horses there for now, we'll find them an empty stable in a bit."

"Looks like you're gonna have to stay here," Link told Epona as he tied her to the post. He grabbed his bag off her saddle and gave her a stroke on the nose before leaving. "I won't be long." He said.

Looking over he saw Alon giving Duster a pat, "I'll see you in a bit, alright?" It snorted. "Hey, don't be like that."

He caught up with Link and they followed the cadets down a dark passage at the end of the courtyard. There were doors on both sides of them and in the spaces in between were occupied with torches. "What is this place?" he asked. "It's kind of creepy to be honest…umm"

"Jake." said the blonde haired cadet. "These are the sleeping quarters. And don't worry; each of them has a window with a view of the field, so you'll get plenty of sun."

"I see. Jake, huh. And that makes you…"

"Glen." said his black haired, blue-eyed friend. He had a deep voice, and he was clean shaved. He seemed to be the anti-social type, always detached from the conversation. He was quite cold as opposed to his friend. They had passed close to fifty doors before following the corridor as it made a sharp left and continued onward.

"It's this one." Glen said, making them backtrack a few doors.

"That's right, 142." Jake said. "Heh heh, sorry about that." He said opening the door for them. It was a simple, small room with a bunk bed in one corner and two desks on the other end. Light was provided through a nice big window and for night time studying there was a torch mounted in the corner between the two desks. There was a wardrobe on the right wall positioned closer to the door.

"TOP BUNK!" Alon shouted, tossing his luggage to the side of the room before belly flopping right onto the mattress. Link could hear the wooden frame creak and slightly bend under the unexpected load. "Ha ha! Yeah!" Alon cheered, rolling flat onto his back. There was more creaking, and then a snap, and next thing they knew Alon along with his bed came crashing down onto the bottom mattress. Dust shot up everywhere, followed by a fit of coughing.

Jake quickly opened the window, and when the dust cleared there was nothing left of the frame except for a pile of splinters. Alon was sprawled across his bed still. He hopped off, and began to dust his shirt, right beside Link. "Well, that was fun!" he said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, and real dorkish too, m-m-m-morCHOO!" the snot flew right in Alon's face.

"Gross, man." Jake cringed. Glen only shook his head. "I'll say this much, you guys are definitely the first to have done something like this." He remarked. "I'll talk to accommodations if we can do something about the bed, worst case scenario one of you will have to sleep on the ground."

Link glared at Alon before socking him on the shoulder, "That'll be you!"

"Once you guys are done unpacking you can go exploring, just make sure you guys are at the mess hall in time for lunch, most of your classmates should be there by then. The mess hall is west of the main courtyard, once you guys eat we'll give you guys the tour." And with that he and Glen left.

"Oh, wait," Glen re-entered the room, he reached in the space between the wardrobe and the wall and pulled out a broom. "You guys are responsible for keeping your room clean." He said tossing the broom to Alon, he caught it with one hand.

"See you in a bit," he said, exiting the room with his back facing them.

"Yeah, see you in a bit." Link echoed.

* * *

The mess hall was also a large stone structure, it had a high ceiling and light was provided by a few high windows and overhead candles. The tables all had bench seats, and across from him were a lot of new faces, each with their own story which he would get to know in due time.

Lunch was rice with a chicken leg, and chopped carrots with peas. The food was definitely good, though nowhere near how Malon's cooking was, but it was still above average in his books. _Or maybe everything seems good compared to what I had to eat just to get by._

"All right recruits! Listen up!" It was Jake; he was standing on one of the benches facing their direction. "Finish your meals and meet outside in the main courtyard! Over there we'll have you guys sorted out into groups so that we can commence the tours!"

Link quickly cleaned off his plate and took his dishes to the counter; he thanked the cook before rushing outside to join the others. Volunteers helped out with forming the tour groups, neatly arranging them as five rows of ten students each. Judging by the number of groups Link was able to assume that his class was just over two hundred students.

Jake proceeded to call out the group leaders names and assign them a tour group. "Amy, you've got group number three," he told one of the five leaders, pointing towards Link's group.

"Alrighty then!" forward stepped a spritely girl, with shoulder length red hair. Unlike Malon's red hair which was actually more like a ginger color, hers was actually red. She was as cute as a button; she had a small nose and round honey colored eyes. And to top it all off she was almost a foot shorter than Link was.

She approached the group, stopping only a few feet away from Link who was in the first row. "Hey, guys! How're we all doing today?" She asked enthusiastically, she had sweet voice, "I'm Amy Sanders, and as you can tell I'll be giving you guys a tour of the Knight Academy and its facilities. But, before we begin," She paused for a moment examining the crowd, "Is there anything you would like to ask me?" she waited, a few hands shot up. "Okay, you there." She said pointing to one of the boys in the third row.

"Umm… how long is the training?" he asked.

"Good question," Amy said smiling; she didn't treat it as if it were a stupid question even though most people would have asked the question long before deciding to join. "The bulk of the training will take three years, that's how long it takes to become a knight. Pass a special exam along with another two years of special training and you can join the ranks of the elites."

"Elites?" Link asked.

"They're specially trained knights, the most deadly of their kind. If there's a problem to big for us to handle, we call these guys in. One of them is like a platoon on their own."

"What kind of training?" the boy from before asked.

"I'm not sure. They stay in a separate part of the Academy all together, but from what I've heard the training is real dangerous, so much so that some don't make it through." This sent chills down Link's spine, _I am so there._ He thought.

"Just curious," this time it was a girl asking the question, "how far along are you…in training that is?"

"Oh, me? This'll be my second year. I'm actually aiming for the elites, so I still have four years to go." That sent a jolt through the crowd.

"What!?" one of the girls shrieked.

"She's insane!" one of the boys said. Amy giggled at the uproar she had created.

"Hey, Amy!" she turned around to look at Jake, "What're you waiting for?"

"Sorry." She laughed. "Come on guys, this way."

Their first stop was through the classrooms, wooden floored lecture halls with desks forming rows every step they descended. At the base was the professor's desk along with a chalk board. They would be taught everything from types of monsters to forging weapons, to tactics and survival. Classes would take place in the morning whereas physical training would take place in the afternoon.

Next they were shown the armory, located in the opposite direction of the mess hall. There was a huge variety of equipment, long swords and short swords, shields, bows, maces, knives, daggers, pairing blades, spears, and tomahawks. "We're expecting new swords, they're said to be sharper, lighter and way more durable than what we have right now." Amy told them. There were different suits of armor also available for them.

"What's with that?" one of the boys asked.

"I'll explain why there are different types of armor when we get there." She answered.

Their next stop was through the gate at the north wall and into the fields. The Academy had acres of grass land. Amy led them to the stables where to Link and Alon's pleasure their horses had already been allocated a stall. "You can take your horses out for a run in the evening; you and only you are responsible for your horse's maintenance. It'll come out of your weekly earnings."

They continued walking west when they happened upon several modestly sized circular enclosures. "These are the sparring arenas if you're all wondering." Amy chimed in. Two soldiers stood inside of the dirt arena, fully armored, each holding a long sword and a massive shield. They slowly circled around, waiting.

In an instant one of them rushed at the other, bearing his blade down. His opponent lifted his shield, and there was loud metal clank and a shower of sparks as the blade made contact. The blocker made the next move, seeing an opening and tried to slash his opponent, but he spun around and attempted to slash him sideways, but instead his blade met with his rival's. They kept on going, repeatedly slashing and blocking and butting shields. Grunting and sweating, as they tried to pick up the pace to get the drop on one another.

It was astonishing to see them put up such a fight even though they were both so heavily equipped. _Incredible;_ he thought, remembering how he needed two hands to hold the Biggoron's sword. He still couldn't move as fast as these two despite wearing much lighter armor.

"These brutes are our most heavily armed soldiers, if you want to be one of them, you need crazy strength and endurance, and if you want to survive, you'll also have to be as fast as them. There are three types of warrior specializations here at the Academy excluding archers. Once you learn a style you can adapt it to horseback. Elites must be familiar with all three main fighting styles and must also be proficient with a bow and spear." She explained.

"So what are the other two main types?"

"You'll see." She said flashing them a smile. Link could see Alon blush out of the corner of his eye as Amy led them past a couple of arenas where soldiers practiced hacking apart dummies, or shooting arrows at them. "This'll be where you get familiar with your equipment, and trust me when I say that it ain't a waste of time, you'll get a nasty beating from your opponent if you don't test your equipment out first."

She continued down to an arena with another pair of soldiers, they were similar to the first pair but these two had no plated armor, just the black leather padding all around, shoulders, chest, gauntlets, but no helmets. They both had a sword and shield in their hands, only smaller versions of the one's from before, and these boys exchanged blows at a much faster rate than the others.

"Despite what you guys may be thinking, these guys are covered in medium-thick leather with chain-mail underneath, so there's nothing to worry about when it comes to injury. This is the lighter sub-class though; most of you will prefer plated armor and some sort of head gear. This style is all about the balance between defense and offense."

Continuing a little further down was an arena where most of the new students had flocked around, cheering and whooping as two cadets stared each other down. _No, way!_ Link rushed to the fence to get a better view. There was no doubt about it; the two cadets in the ring were none other than Jake and Glen. They were lightly armored, just like the previous group, but they didn't carry any shield with them, only a set of pairing blades. The crowd fell silent as the two began to slowly circle one another, carefully calculating their options.

To Link's surprise both of them rushed at each other at the same time, kicking up a cloud of dust. And in an instant all four blades were locked in combat. Sparks began to fly as they struck and parried each others attacks, ducking and dodging. Everyone burst out cheering. Glen jumped back before leaping in the air straight at his opponent; he bounded off of Jake's blade and flipped in midair attempting a slash from behind.

As fast as he was Jake was able to keep pace, denying him of his attack by swinging his own blade around to match it. Glen rolled backward the instant he hit the ground to avoid a barrage of his friend's attacks, springing to his feet and rushing in at him again. The air was filled with the sound of non stop metallic clanging; they were completely enveloped in a cloud of dust. Sparks rained out from the clouds in a bright yellow downpour before the instructor finally called out for them to stop.

When the dust settled, the two valiant warriors were leaning on their blades, both panting and dripping with sweat. They let go of their weapons, and slowly approached each other.

Despite having to catch his breath, Jake was laughing.

"Damn. Can't you loosen up for a bit?" he held out his hand to Glen.

"You're one to talk." Glen smirked.

The whole crowd roared in applause.

"These," Amy began, "Are the fastest fighters we have to offer. They have the most attack power but, it comes at a cost, as you may have noticed. Wielding two swords means that you can't use a shield at the same time. To survive as a unit of this class you will need to have break neck speed and reflexes. Despite how cool it looks, it's incredibly hard to become proficient with two blades."

Link could hardly believe the spectacle he had just witnessed. _How did I ever survive my journey? They overshadow me in sheer skill alone._ The thought of it left him wondering, _does this mean that any one of these guys could have defeated Ganon?_

"Come on guys, dinner should be ready soon," Amy called out. "And that concludes the tour."

* * *

Link stared at his plate, fiddling with the peas beside his steak and mashed potatoes. He hadn't even touched any of it. In his head he kept going over the display he had just witnessed. _Duel wielding,_ such a thought had never crossed his mind, but now he was determined to learn it, even though he was already more than proficient with a sword and shield, he just had to learn this.

While he was busy with such thoughts, Alon was asking Amy all sorts of questions. Link had actually gotten quite tired of it, they were stupid questions to be honest, and knowing the answers wouldn't do him any favors.

 _Unless,_ Link thought, realizing what was actually going on, _no, it can't be. He's not mentally capable of it._ Alon said bye to Amy when she told him she had to go to bed.

He rested his head on his arm, smiling in a really goofy way before his elbow was pulled away. His face went splat right into his mashed potatoes. He glared at Link, who rested his face in his hand and cocked an eyebrow, smiling devilishly. Alon blushed.

"So," Link asked, "You're here one day, and you've already found a girl to chase after? I never thought you had it in you."

"Shaddup," Alon retorted, his cheeks burned even redder than before. "You shouldn't be making such assumptions."

"It's not assuming when the usually smooth talking, boldly speaking, Alon suddenly learns his table manners and stutters whilst he asks unnecessary questions."

"They're not unnecessary!" Alon argued.

"Of course not, because asking about her personal life is going to get you through training." Link replied sarcastically. "Plus, I saw the way your face lit up when she talked about joining the elites."

"At least she's within reach," Alon spat.

"What're you implying?" Link growled, upset with how his teasing backfired. _That thing about his intelligence…I take it back now._

"Relax, I won't tell anyone." Alon teased. _Damn it! I was supposed to say that!_ Alon decided to change the subject before Link could come up with new means to annoy him. "So, what are we learning first?"

"Archery, I think." Link said.

"That means that we'll need our own bows, the equipment that they provide for us here is fairly worn out. And the stuff they provide us for the field has seen better days. I'll have a look in town some time."

"Are you able to afford one?" Link asked him.

"Big sis' and my dad had actually been saving up our allowances as me and Katelon grew up doing the chores and such. I think I should be able to cover my equipment with what I've made. How about you?" he asked Link.

"I can get a bow no problem, but I had this one way back that was the absolute best. I just need to find it again."

"Wait," Alon said, "how did you manage to lose a bow? Like, out of all things a bow!"

"I have no idea," Link answered bluntly.

"Well, given that it was from so long ago I guess you might have outgrew it by now, huh?" Alon conjectured.

"Maybe," Link replied.

"Hmm?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll deal with this in the morning." He said as he outstretched his hands yawning. _If only he knew._

He quickly ate his steak; it had gone cold, nothing new to him. He gathered his plate and cup and took it to the counter. Link thanked the cook and made his way back to his room, Alon followed close behind.

As he walked through the main courtyard Link glanced up at the night sky. It had only been a day, yet he was already thinking about how things were back at the ranch.

"So," Alon cut in his thoughts, "You think me and Amy would make a cute couple or what?"

"No." he said with a cruel chuckle.

"What!?" Alon cried out, lashing out with his foot. The two wrestled it out in the middle of the courtyard, despite the number of cadets watching.

For now, Link thought, he would satisfy himself with this form of teasing.

 _ **ShadowXLink86: Thanks for reading! Like I said, things are going to take a turn in chapter 9, so stay tuned! Also I've been putting it off, but if you were wondering Iain is pronounced like this "Eye-in". And also, for those of you who love cars as much as I do and loved Initial D, I have published the first chapter of my crossover "The Triforce Cup". Take a look if you're interested.**_

 _ **And again, Read &Review!**_


	10. Notice to Readers

Hey there folks!

I know it's been a while now and I was planning on updating. (Massive Understatement)

Seriously, I am.

I'm not making any promises, though I do hope to update by New Years, hopefully...

But there's more!

I've read over what I've posted so far and realized that it is not what I consider satisfactory material. It personally felt like I had dropped in nothing but filler chapters most of the way through. Crappy filler chapters. And so as you guys may be able to deduce, I am starting the story fresh, with a much better plot in my mind now, and with a much quicker pace...hopefully, I just finished my exams so I'm doing my best to get it done, and get it done right.

So that's that! To those of you reading this, I hope you're looking forward to **The Forgotten Hero:Re** or maybe 2.0, don't worry the title isn't actually changing, I just wanted to sound cool.

Later Days,


	11. Final notice to Readers, please read

Okay, I'm really sorry for getting your hopes up, but I'm going to say this much.

I tried to write the first chapter in the rewrite and lets just say that it wasn't coming out just right, writer's block or whatever you want to call it, it was just not satisfactory at all. So, consider the haiatus extended if not permanent. Sorry.

In the meantime I actually started getting a lot of ideas for a different fanfic, like a lot, and it is a lot clearer and more developed in my head than TFH. And as a result I have decided that for the time being any time that I have for writing will be devoted to that. And because of it I also think that I will have a much better understanding of my writing style and I can use a lot more from this new fanfic to improve myself, since the two pieces are very different in terms of style.

In short I think that writing my new fanfic will help me become a better writer and as a result I may perhaps, one day, not so soon, maybe, probably, not really sure about it, come back to TFH. But you can settle with this piece of news.

After watching all of Danganronpa and playing Danganronpa 2, I have decided to start a new fanfic, obviously danganronpa.

I think it'll turn out much better than the blunder I call TFH (so far), and hence here it is, it's not out yet, but when it is it will be under this title.

 **Danganronpa 2 - Scattered Hopes**

This is something for you all to look forward too, so thanks for your support and again, sorry for jumping ships.


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